Spilled Coffee
by woahvauseman
Summary: AU - When a meek and naive Piper Chapman is summoned to her local coffee shop by her best friend Polly, she has no idea that her life will change forever when a phlegmatic and alluring Alex Vause comes crashing in to her life, quite literally. Neither of the two women can prepare themselves for the adventures that will happen and the feelings that will ignite between them.
1. Chapter 1

**Spilled Coffee**

A/N: Hey everyone, this is something that I've been thinking of writing for a while, I've been writing this for quite some time and I've just kept adding more and more to it until it finally satisfied me and now here we are! I'm just testing the waters with this since this is kind of new ground for me, so it would be great if you would let me know what you think!

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><p><span>Chapter 1<span>

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" the blonde quizzed her friend sat across her, arms folded across her chest as she leaned back into her chair.

"It's nothing Piper, now that I think about it I just overreacted."

"Pol, what is it." Piper encouraged her friend to speak up; she knew something was wrong because Polly only ever dragged her out to their local bistro when another one of her dramas was unfolding. It was late afternoon so Piper didn't particularly mind meeting up with her friend as she had finished most of the tasks and chores she had to do for the day, so it's not like their meeting was interrupting anything. The bistro was a small place in the middle of town that had only been open for a year or so, the staff was friendly and Piper enjoyed going there with Polly. The two women had been sat at their usual table by the door for about twenty minutes sipping at their coffee that Piper had bought when she arrived first, watching passers-by through the window and having a tedious conversation before Piper finally decided to get the point of the whole reason she had met up with Polly in the first place.

Polly sighed as a look of discontent washed over her, "I'm just really stressed out. Pete has hardly been around to help me with the wedding preparation and whenever I do see him he always reeks of beer. Whenever I mention the fact he's been drinking more he just says he's fucking Australian so it's normal. I snapped at him this morning and now I feel like an asshole."

Polly unfolded her arms from across her body and placed her elbows on the small, round table in front of her with a thud and rested her head in her hands.

Piper looked at her friend with a sympathetic expression, tracing her index finger around the almost empty cup of coffee as she tried to string together a helpful sentence to say. The past few months had been taking its toll on the brunette (and Piper too, who was always the one Polly vented her problems to). She was getting married to her high school sweetheart, Pete. They had been dating for as long as anyone could remember so it was about time he popped the question; the blonde was thrilled to hear of the engagement and whenever the two women was together the topic of conversation always seemed to end up being about the upcoming wedding. They could talk for hours on end about wedding dresses, flower arrangements and the perfect venue but now all they ever seemed to discuss was how aggravating Pete was being and how stressed Polly was. Piper had promised she would be there to help her best friend for the big day but recently nothing was getting done due to how stressed out Polly was, the wedding was in just over a month and the couple was going through a rough patch that the blonde never heard enough of.

"Pete is probably just as stressed as you are, you're making a promise to someone for the rest of your life - it can be scary." Pipers tone was soft and comforting; she was trying her best to reassure the brunette. "What did you say to him anyway?"

Polly groaned and raised her head out of her hands to look at her friend, Piper let out a chuckle at the sight of her exhausted expression.

"Something along the lines of calling him a useless, pathetic excuse of a man who drinks too much cheap beer and vanishes when things start getting difficult."

Piper raised her eyebrows; Polly must have been _really_ stressed out if she was being that harsh to her future husband.

"Wow," was the only thing the blonde could utter out, she never had been the best with words.

"I know," Polly shook her head, aware that she took it slightly too far.

Piper furrowed her brows. It's possibly easier said than done but Piper thought that Polly should just lighten up and enjoy her last couple of weeks as a single woman. It would make things far much easier for everyone.

"All that over him smelling of beer?"

"There's other things too, it's all been building up and I just snapped." she paused for a moment almost as if she realised she was talking too much about herself.

Shocker.

Polly placed both of her hands on to the wooden table, palms face down as she studied the girl opposite her with a look of interrogation. "Enough about me anyway, how's things going with you?"

Piper looked at Polly with a confused expression and she hesitated slightly before speaking, "...Good, I guess. It depends what you mean"

Polly smirked and nudged the blonde in the arm that was resting on the table, still tracing around the edge of her cup. "You know what I mean."

The blonde scoffed and now it was her turn to rest her head in her hands, she shook her head gently before once again looking at the face of her inquisitive friend. "How did I know the topic of conversation would end up being about my love life? You sound like my mom"

"Correction, your nonexistent love life. Anyway, you can't blame me for being a little curious! I'm amazed you haven't got cobwebs forming down there."

As displeasing it was to hear, Polly was right. It had been a while. Piper's love life, as Polly said, was nonexistent after her split from her ex-boyfriend Larry. He wasn't tall, dark and handsome with abs like steel but Piper was happy enough with him for the majority of the relationship. He was an aspiring writer but none of his articles were getting any recognition, the blonde had read through some of them when he left his laptop on and she was pretty certain he wouldn't be getting any of them published soon.

She once read a dreadful article about something called 'edging'; she vowed not to read any others after that.

He wasn't anything special, he was nice enough and he really did love her, but after just over a year of dating him Piper had realised the feeling wasn't at all mutual. It was like she had an epiphany; it was as if she had a sudden jolt of electricity in her mind that snapped her back to her senses. It finally clicked that she had spent a year of her life in a loveless (on Pipers part anyway) and trite relationship. Despite coming to terms with her feelings for Larry, she still stayed with him for a lot longer than she should have. She did it Mainly out of sympathy.

After a while though, Piper realised she was only staying with him because she was just _terrified _of being alone. She didn't want to do the inevitable task of splitting from Larry because she didn't know how she would cope with being by herself.

However, the day the blonde finally decided that enough was enough was on an average Sunday afternoon when she was putting away Larry's laundry. Piper came across a small box wrapped in suede tucked away in his underwear drawer (he could have thought of a better hiding place). Piper knew exactly what it was. However she still felt the need to see it with her own eyes rather than just assuming the worst.

She was right. When she opened the tiny box her eyes met a silver ring sitting comfortably in the box, it was encrusted with three diamonds, one large diamond taking pride of place in the centre of the ring and the two others either side of it. It was a Bloom family heirloom, Piper knew the engagement ring didn't come from immediate family but it still would have held some significance and she didn't want Larry going through all the effort of planning a proposal and producing her this ring while down on one knee only to be rejected. Piper had to put a stop to the relationship and so that night when Larry came home from his monotonous job, she ended it.

Larry tried to put on a brave face as best he could but the blonde knew she had just ripped out his heart there and then.

The pair hasn't spoken since. As bad as it sounds, Piper is glad she hasn't had any contact with Larry. She wouldn't know how to go about having conversation with him knowing full well that she ended their relationship while he was planning to propose to her, it would be far too awkward for Pipers liking.

Larry offered a life of stability, a life that offered no trouble however Piper wasn't happy. It wasn't the life she wanted. The blonde didn't want to be the common housewife she knew she was morphing in to the longer she stayed with him. She _dreaded _the thought of being someone who wasted away their life sitting at home all day and made sure a hot plate food was on the table for when their husband came home. Someone she promised she would never turn in to - A promise more to herself than anyone else.

Piper wanted something to look forward to waking up to; a life that people envied because her life made theirs look so mundane and prosaic which her relationship with Larry undeniably was.

It lacked that excitement she so desperately craved.

"I don't know Pol; I guess I haven't found the right person yet." The blonde shrugged her shoulders, the white material of her blouse creasing at the action.

"Well who is the right person? I never know with you Piper."

"I don't know myself to be honest," she slouched back into her seat before continuing, "I want warm, but I also want hot. I want fireworks. I want somebody I can have adventures with." Her azure eyes flashed with life at the prospect of being with someone that could make her feel such a way. She hoped, in fact she _dreamed_ of the day that person would walk into her life.

Polly paused, processing what her friend had just said. "Those people are hard to come by."

Piper sighed and the corners of her lips twitched into a disgruntled smile, "I've figured."

The brunette chuckled as she sat up straight in her seat, "This conversation got way too deep all of a sudden, I need another coffee."

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><p>The deafening sound of the default iPhone ringtone sounded loudly throughout the moderately sized apartment, the sudden sound of it breaking the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of the room and making its owner jump with surprise. A pale hand moved forward towards the device and picked it up from the pale oak coffee table, swiping across the screen and bringing it to her ear.<p>

"Hello?"

"Vause!"

Alex could recognize that voice from a mile away. She didn't even have to check the caller ID to know it was Nicky; it was like her special skill. Well, if you class knowing who is trying to call you before you look at their ID a 'special skill'.

"Are you still up for tonight?"

Before she could even construct a reply the wild haired woman continued speaking.

"Actually forget I asked that because even if you said no I'd still come to your apartment and personally drag you out of it."

Alex chuckled lightly. The pair had been practically joined at the hip since middle school and even back then Nicky was still one of the most determined people Alex knew. She was especially persistent when alcohol was involved in the equation.

Alex was exhausted and didn't feel at all like traipsing around town until the early hours of the morning with a drunken Nicky by her side, not that she would be in any better condition. She could however handle the liquor far better than her best friend so she was always the more sober one. The raven haired girl sighed and took the black frames of her glasses between her thumb and forefinger and pushed them past her emerald green eyes so they mounted the top over her head.

"I don't think I can really say no." She laughed drowsily into her phone and waited for a sarcastic reply from Nicky.

"No, you can't." Alex could picture Nicky's smug smile on the other end of the line. It wasn't worth putting up a fight. She knew she would regret staying at home; it was a Friday night after all and both women needed to end the week on a high note. Their nights out were always ones to remember, they usually followed the same pattern – They would find a bar that sold cheap drinks and still manage to spend a small fortune, possibly dance on the odd few table tops and get completely and utterly paralytic drunk while the night ended with one of them calling for a taxi before things got too out of hand. Alex had got herself into a couple of bar fights and often reigned victorious. They usually started out with someone, whether it be man or woman, looking or saying something to the more than likely drunk raven haired girl that wasn't particularly to her liking and things usually spiral out of control from there. Alex has quite a notorious reputation in some of New York's bars and clubs, something that she is fairly proud of.

"Fine. Be at my place at seven." Alex removed the phone from the side of her face and ended the call, she checked the time quickly before locking the device and throwing it down onto the plush cushions of the couch she was sat comfortably on. It was almost 5pm so Alex didn't give herself much time. She wasn't of those people that took hours to get ready but she needed to wake herself up before she did anything else.

She needed a coffee.

Alex picked herself up from her nest of blankets on the couch and strode forward into the kitchen, her long strides landing her in the centre of the desired room in next to no time. Dishes were piled up in the sink to her left and a handful of cups were scattered across the black marble worktop. Alex hadn't had much time to clean them up and when she did have some free time to herself, washing the dishes wasn't exactly the top of her to-do list. She shuffled over to the cupboards mounted on the wall where she usually kept her coffee and swung the small doors open, only to be met with a bare shelf. She let out a disapproving groan and rolled her eyes at the deficient sight before her. Alex didn't have enough time to take a nap and she _needed_ to wake herself up if she was going to enjoy herself when Nicky turned up at her door.

The only option left was that she had to go to the small bistro a couple of blocks away from her apartment. She didn't particularly feel like walking but it wouldn't take long and Alex was really craving a hot cup of coffee at the moment now that she had got herself in the mood for one.

The raven haired girl left the kitchen and made her way down the small corridor towards the entrance to her apartment where her leather jacket was hung up next to the door and her favourite pair of combat boots lay sprawled across the floor after she kicked them off and left them there the last time she came home from a previous venture outside.

Alex Vause wasn't the tidiest of people.

She fastened the boots up tightly and slipped on the jacket so it fit smugly over her plain white cotton t-shirt that hung loosely over her torso. She made sure her phone was in the pocket of her jet-black jeans just in case Nicky tried to call her again. Once she was certain she had everything she needed, Alex unlocked the white wooden door and was out into the corridor of her building in a flash.

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><p>Piper settled her cream leather purse onto the counter-top and retrieved a ten dollar bill from one of its many zip compartments to pay for the two Cappuccinos she ordered a couple minutes prior. Her mother had bought it for her birthday earlier in the year because she thought Pipers old purse looked 'too cheap'. The blonde thought it was a perfectly fine purse and as long as it did its job that's all that really mattered, right?<p>

Wrong. It was _always_ about image with Pipers mom, even if it was just a purse. She irritated the living hell out of Piper.

The line at the counter was getting fairly long, it was going on for 5:15pm so Friday night rush hour was starting, and numerous people dressed head to toe in formal attire that had obviously just left a tiring day at the office were now occupying some of the tables in the bistro. Piper was relieved she wasn't one of those people; she couldn't cope with the humdrum routine of working 9am to 5pm shifts for five days a week, that didn't appeal to Piper in the slightest.

She wouldn't class herself as unemployed, though. The small bath product business/hobby that she and Polly had going earned her enough money to keep her happy and it was a really enjoyable pastime. The pair earned an average sum of money when they sold their products at farmers markets and not too long ago they discovered they were going to be having their products sold at Barneys, so their income would only ever increase. The business was really beginning to take off considering it started out as a product of boredom.

The young man behind the counter dressed in a black uniform who took Pipers order placed two cups down carefully in front of her. The blonde handed over her money and tapped her foot quietly on the floor as she waited patiently to receive her change. Once the member of staff handed Piper a small handful of coins and she had placed them into her godforsaken purse, she attentively picked up the two pristine white cups and started advancing towards her table where Polly was waiting. Piper was being extremely careful not to bump into anyone as she shuffled closer to her table just beside the door.

Piper looked down at the cups for a brief second to make sure the liquid wasn't close to spilling out of the cups as her body swayed from side to side as her feet hit the floor.

Once the blonde's eyes had returned to looking ahead, she saw a body advancing forward through the doorway, their eyes focusing on the black iPhone resting firmly in their hand and coming towards Piper far too quick for the blonde to react. Before Piper could fully register what was about to happen, it was too late.

Piper forcibly collided with the other woman and to her dismay the steaming hot coffee had been spilled all over her pristine white shirt, a large stain appeared from bellow her collar bones all the way down the hem of the shirt that was now clinging against its owners skin.

"What the _fuck_?" was the only words the raven haired girl could deliver as she pulled harshly at the material of her shirt so the hot liquid that was dripping down her front didn't scald her, pulling on a nearby chair abruptly so it let out a piercing screech on the floor and slumped down into its cushioned seat . Her long, elegant fingers quickly grabbed a handful of napkins from a metallic dispenser that rested on the table and begun the arduous task of trying to soak up as much of the beverage as she possibly could.

"I am _so_ sorry!" Piper quickly placed down the now mostly empty cups and perched on the seat opposite the clearly furious stranger and sat there hesitantly, not knowing whether to speak in case she only made the situation worse.

Alex tried to dry out her shirt as best as she could but was getting no success, she would most definitely have to throw that shirt out when she returned back to her apartment because there would be one hell of a stain once it had dried. The taller girl wiped the minuscule amount of coffee that had landed on her phone so it was now free of any droplets and placed it down on the flat surface next to her. Alex looked down to inspect the damage and immediately realised her shirt was now partially see-through and that her back lace bra was visible.

"I'm so sorry," Piper repeated, sounding truly remorseful. "Are you alright?"

Alex looked up at the girl in front of her for the first time and was taken aback by her appearance. The raven haired girl scanned the woman's seated body from head to toe, not even attempting to make her actions discrete. Piper's was sat up straight in the chair as if she was about to be interviewed for a job with her knees pressed together in a very elegant manner and white stiletto heels were surrounded by a small puddle of coffee on the floor that the blonde was completely unaware of. A loose blouse adorned her slender, toned figure; Piper was nervously playing with the hem of the shirt as she waited for a reply from Alex, who was far too busy digesting the sight in front of her. Piper's hair was loose around her shoulders and small portion of hair had been tucked behind her ear after the collision so her face was free of any loose strands. Alex's temper immediately perished at the sight of the girl and her expression relaxed, which made Piper feel a hell of a lot better.

"Yeah, I'm fine it's only a little coffee." Alex's tone was gentle and reassuring, she smirked and Piper could feel a smile of her own etching its way onto her face. Her voice was husky and mellow, it sounded like velvet and not to mention probably the sexiest thing Piper had ever heard. It was a large contrast to the anger laced tone she used when she first spoke.

Piper couldn't take her eyes off the raven haired girl. Her skin was a flawless porcelain colour that seemed to radiate health and was make up free apart from a small amount of meticulously winged black eyeliner. Her jade green eyes were complimented with black rimmed glasses resting on her nose. She was beautiful; Piper could feel a breath hitch in her throat as she continued to stare at the woman opposite her. The blonde didn't know if she was intimidated by Alex or enthralled by her. Maybe even both.

"I wasn't looking where I was going, I'm sorry…" Piper trailed off and smiled nervously as she ran her hand through her golden locks.

Alex let out a laugh that turned out much more loudly than she anticipated and the blonde's expression immediately became one of confusion.

"Stop saying sorry, it's fine. Trust me."

Piper felt a sudden rush of heat in her cheeks as she blushed profusely; she hoped to God it wasn't too noticeable. She opened her mouth to speak but decided against it once she had processed what she was going to say.

She was going to apologise for apologising too much.

Instead, she remembered her friend who was probably sat oblivious to what had just occurred and still waiting for Piper to return with their hot drinks which was instead discarded all over Alex's shirt. Polly could wait just a little longer; she seemed to be doing ok.

Alex relaxed her posture in the seat, placing her left elbow on the edge of the table and leaning into it. "If I ring out my shirt you might get at least one cup of coffee back." A teasing smile embellished Alex's face and Piper felt a bubble of laughter escape her throat. The blonde was at ease knowing that the raven haired girl was totally fine with the mishap that occurred, however she was surprised at how quickly her demeanour changed from evidently furious to so relaxed within the blink of an eye.

The blonde nonchalantly crossed one leg over the other, making herself more comfortable so she didn't appear as formal, "Good idea, maybe it will still be warm."

Alex grabbed a hold of lapels of her jacket and started shaking them back and forth as if she was attempting to cool down, a smile begun creeping onto Pipers face for the umpteenth time since she sat down.

"Who needs a jacket when you have a coffee soaked t-shirt?" Alex quipped, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow. There was something enticing about the unfamiliar blonde woman sat adjacent to her, she radiated innocence naivety, but Alex felt something that she couldn't explain when she looked at her. Piper's eyes fell to the image that was Alex's lace bra which was now more distinctly showing. The blonde's eyes ceased to move for much longer than they should have and Piper only returned to look at possibly the most alluring person she has ever seen when she saw her body shift ever so slightly, snapping her out of her trance like state.

Once they made eye contact, Piper is _sure_ the raven haired girl winked at her.

"How come you were in such a hurry?" Piper inquired, attempting to cover up her tracks of being potentially caught out staring inappropriately at a woman she has just met.

Alex moved her arm from the table she was leaning on swiftly and took her fingers to her face, gracefully taking her glasses between two fingers and pushing them up her face so they now rested on her forehead, her jet black hair pushed off her features as the arms of her glasses tilted back.

"My friend Nicky is coming over to my place soon and I don't have enough time to have a nap so I thought coffee could be the answer to my problems." Alex was now in fact wide because of the slightly bizarre situation she was currently in.

"Oh, I shouldn't keep you then." Piper spoke sounding slightly disappointed. The blonde didn't want their somewhat trivial conversation to end; the reason for this though was unbeknownst to her.

"No it's fine; I'm only expecting her in the next couple of hours."

"I should probably get going though too, Polly is probably waiting for me," the blonde's lips twitched at the corner as pointed to the direction of her table where her friend who she had momentarily forgotten about was slouched in her seat typing incredibly fast on her phone. Alex's head turned to look at who the blonde was pointing at and laughed as she turned her face back so she was facing Piper.

"Yeah, you should go before Holly falls off that fucking chair."

Piper didn't bother correcting Alex's mistake with her friend's identity, whether she did it on purpose or not Piper didn't particularly care. Polly did look slightly stupid slouched so far down into the chair.

The blonde uncrossed her legs and placed her hands on the arms of the chair, preparing to raise herself up.

"Again, I'm sorry about the whole coffee thing." Alex simply waved her hand and grinned, as if to say _don't worry about it._ Piper took that as her cue to leave and so she pushed herself up to her full height and smoothed out her shirt so it was free of any creases. Alex's eyes scanned over Pipers long legs now that they were fully extended, she could think of several places that those legs would look better.

Around her waist, for example.

Before Piper could get any further away from the girl, she heard Alex call out in her husky tones that Piper could listen to all day if she had the chance.

"Wait."

The blonde halted and spun around on her heel so she was once again looking into the hypnotizing eyes of the raven haired girl who had also stood up surprisingly quickly from her seat. Despite the fact Piper was wearing heels; Alex was still taller than her in her well-worn combat boots.

"I don't think I asked your name?"

Piper thought it was quite funny, to be honest. How Alex had gone from swearing at the blonde when the pair had crashed together to now politely asking her name.

Piper hesitated, slightly flustered. "Piper, Piper Chapman."

_Was the surname really necessary? _Piper asked herself, slightly embarrassed.

Another one of Alex's trademark smirks etched its way on to her face which made Piper feel weak at the knees.

"I'm Alex"

Alex. It was simple but it suited her, if a name can suit someone that is. Before Piper could offer a reply, the raven haired girl had already beaten her to it.

"Well then, Piper Chapman…"

Alex spoke her name as if she was testing out how it sounded in her voice, Piper wouldn't mind hearing her name spoke in the somewhat raspy voice of the girl opposite to her which made her stomach do somersaults. Alex could say possibly the most disgusting and offensive sentence known to man and still make it sound _ridiculously _sexy. Alex inhaled slowly before continuing, altering her posture so she was stood up straight.

"I guess I'll be seeing you around, then."

Alex raised her eyebrows slightly at the blonde stood in the middle of the busy room and slowly passed by Piper as she walked towards the door. The aroma of Alex's perfume made its way to the blondes nose, she smelled of vanilla and of leather from her jacket. Not to mention coffee was mixed in with the other scents too.

She smelled fucking amazing.

"Are you not getting anything?" Piper asked, slightly dazed over the situation.

Alex carried on strolling leisurely towards to doorway with her back to Piper; she tilted her head slightly and spoke louder than usual over her leather-clad shoulder, her voice taking on a more joking like tone.

"I'm not thirsty anymore."

And with that, she was out of the door and had left Piper stood rather awkwardly next to a puddle of what was supposed to be her and Polly's drinks. Because of how busy the bistro had gotten, much to Pipers surprise no one seemed to notice what happened between the two women despite how loud the collision between them was. The blonde quickly made sure nobody was watching her and once the coast was clear she stealthily moved a nearby chair that she had been seated on over the puddle so it was mostly covered and was no longer a slipping hazard.

It was someone else's problem now.

The blonde strode towards her table were Polly was sat still ridiculously low in her seat and focusing on the phone grasped firmly in her palm. She collapsed down into her chair and made her friend jump at the sudden return. She failed to notice Polly's startled expression as her mind was elsewhere - A particular brunette plaguing her mind.

What did she mean by '_I guess I'll be seeing you around'_?

Was she just being sarcastic? Despite the obvious tone of banter and a slight essence of flirtation in her tone, Alex sounded like she was actually going to see Piper again.

New York was a big city; it was highly unlikely the two women would ever run into each other again, but the blonde was hoping that she would somehow cross paths with Alex for a second time. It was almost as if the raven haired girl retained an aura of mystery, even though their meeting had only been very brief, Piper wanted to know more. It was slightly disheartening to know that she might not get the chance to get to know the woman.

Piper finally snapped out of her trance when Polly shifted in her seat and accidentally kicked the blonde in the shin. Well, Piper thinks it was an accident.

"Piper?"

"What?" Piper looked at her still evidently confused friend with a lethargic expression before she put two and two together and realised the cause of Polly's disarray.

"Where's the coffee?"


	2. Chapter 2

A/N:

**Im** **re-posting this because of the awful typo's I spotted, they should all be fixed now!**

Hey everyone! I'm absolutely amazed at the response the first chapter has got so far, I just want to give a massive thank you to everyone that has read the story and reviewed it etc. I've never wrote anything like this before, in fact i've never really wrote anything so it really means a lot to know people like the story. Also...I've probably decided to write this at the worst possible time for me because i'm in my final year of high school so i'm really busy with studying and all that so i've not really had much spare time to write, but I 100% promise I will try my very best to update once every week. So yeah, enough with me talking. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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><p><span>Chapter 2<span>

The door to the store swung open causing the bell above it to chime loudly, a cool breeze briefly swept through the store and the sound of the early Monday morning commute was silenced as the door was shut once again. Alex grabbed hold of the sign that hung in the glass and turned it around so the word '_open_' could be seen from outside.

Bookcases lined the pale walls of the room and what must be hundreds of different books lined the shelves, some new and some old. Much smaller book cases was spread out across the wooden floor so they created isles and inhabited numerous different types of genres of novels, all of which were painstakingly placed in alphabetical order by Alex not too long ago.

The raven haired girl leisurely strolled across the large room towards the far side of the store where the small counter resided with the cash register mounted above it and where the entrance to the stock room was. Once she reached the door, she took out her keys from her favourite pair of jet black jeans that fit almost like second skin, and put a rather worn out looking key into the door and turned it so she heard the lock click open. Alex pushed the door open so that she was now stood in a very messy and _extremely _cold stock room._  
><em>

"_Fuck_" Alex murmured to herself, immediately looking for the cause of what felt like sub-zero temperatures. She scanned the room that had shelves and tables scattered around it that filled with reading material, much like the main room but a lot less organized and tidy. Alex sighed as her jade irises focused on a window that had been left wide open over the weekend in the far corner of the room. She quickly strode over to the window and slammed it shut, for some reason it was much colder in the disordered stock room than it was actually outside.

Alex made her way in to the centre of the room and slipped off her black backpack and placed it down on to the large table that took up most of the floor space and unzipped it. Her pale hand dug around inside of the bag and pulled out the item she was looking for – her iPhone charger. It was going to be one hell of a boring day as usual and having her phone die on her was the worst possible thing that could happen.

Alex owned a small bookstore just on the outskirts of town, a couple of blocks away from her apartment. She worked by herself, she never got round to hiring staff mainly because she didn't need any helping hands and because she quite enjoyed working on her own, no matter how boring it was. Alex had her way of dealing with things, whether it be how she handled customers or how she stocked the shelves (that never really got that empty anyway) and she didn't want someone coming in and doing things a completely different way.

It had never been a thriving store, but its earlier years were far busier than they was now, Alex is lucky she gets a dozen people walking through her door in a day and the business is really suffering. She hasn't invested any more books or magazines to put on the shelves because she isn't selling the ones she already has, so why waste money buying some more if they're only ever going to collect dust along with the others.

Because of iPhones, iPads, any piece of technology beginning with 'I' that you can simply download books on from the comfort of your own home, people aren't as interested in having piece of reading material in their hands anymore and so to Alex's dismay, physical copies of books are becoming a thing of the past.

The only time Alex ever earns money is when people come in with a handful of tattered novels they don't want anymore and feel bad throwing them away, so they sell them to Alex only for her to dump them in the freezing cold stock room she was now currently stood in.

Alex needed to think of something and quick if she wants to keep her business afloat. Alas, that is easier said than done.

Once she had found her iPhone charger, Alex zipped up her backpack and left it on the table. She made her way back to the door of the stock room and opened it so she was stood in the main shop once again. The raven haired girl took her phone out of the back pocket of her jeans and slumped herself down on the stool that was behind the counter and leaned her head against the wall.

Alex checked her phone and saw that Nicky had sent her a picture message not too long ago.

"Oh God what could this be" Alex asked herself as she swiped on the screen of her phone and typed in her password, apprehensive about what the image Nicky had sent could possibly be.

Alex scoffed as the image came into view on the screen.

The picture was of Alex in the back of what seemed to be a taxi looking slightly worse for wear. She was wearing a black skin tight dress that seemed to have been pulled up higher on her thighs for reasons unbeknownst to the raven haired girl. Her hair was slightly tangled and the curls she remembers labouring over had dropped out almost completely. She was slouched in the fabric seat of the taxi with her head leaning against the door, eyes closed with a bottle of beer loosely gripped in her hand.

How classy.

Alex grimaced at the extremely unflattering image from the previous Friday night and looked underneath the picture to see a message from Nicky unsurprisingly mocking Alex.

_Nicky:  
>Look what I just found, looking good Vause!<em>

Alex smirked and begun speedily typing out her reply.

_Alex:  
>Wow, just wow. I don't think I've ever looked better. What happened that night?<em>

No matter how hard Alex tried, she could remember hardly anything from that night. Usually when she and Nicky went out together she could remember bits and pieces, it was rare that Alex could remember next to nothing. Alex remembers had left her apartment that night feeling slightly perplexed and stinking of coffee after a rather strange encounter with a clumsy blonde in her local coffee shop. She remembers hoping to somehow bump into the girl as her and Nicky went from bar to bar yet Alex didn't have any luck in spotting her anywhere. She also remembers buying her first round of ridiculously strong shots and after that, everything is blurred.

_Nicky:  
>I couldn't tell you if I wanted to. Fuck we must have drank so much.<em>

_Alex:  
>I think I still have a hangover, I'm never going near alcohol again.<em>

_Nicky:  
>I wouldn't go as far as never again, just a couple days.<em>

Alex laughed to herself, both women knew they would be back to their usual antics this coming Friday, hopefully this time they would be able to remember something the following morning.

_Alex:  
>Haha. Anyway, im at work, talk to you later.<em>

Alex locked her phone and placed it on the surface in front of her before leaning backwards so her back was resting on the wall as she watched passers-by absentmindedly through the large windows at the front of the store.

_Today is going to be a long day,_ she thought.

* * *

><p>The menial day had gone much more slowly than Alex had first expected, it was as if time had stood still because every time she had checked her phone for the time after what seemed like half an hour, only five minutes or so had passed.<p>

It was now about 2pm, Alex had only been in work for a couple of hours and she was only supposed to shut up shop much later in the day, so to pass time she had finally decided to tidy the chaotic stock room. The shop was completely empty apart from Alex so it's not as if she was keeping a horde of people waiting while she was in there.

During her time in the room that had drastically risen in temperature since the morning, Alex had organized one side of it so it was now much neater and better organized.

The room was only small and she didn't have that many novels and other types of reading material to organize in the first place, but on the odd occasion someone did sell Alex books she just threw them onto the nearest surface she could spot and left it there, so over time the mess had mounted up and turned into an absolute nightmare to deal with. Along with scattered books there was old paperwork and bills for the store had been tossed all over the table that was in the middle of the room and Alex had never bothered to throw any of it out.

The raven haired girl was just beginning to open her second bin bag for some of the waste that was still left on the floor when she heard a voice call out from the main room.

"Hello, anyone here?"

Alex ceased her current actions and stood up straight, she pushed her glasses up her nose that had slid down while she was bent over picking things up from the floor.

She was surprised at the sudden visitor.

"Sorry I'm just in the back, I'll be out in a minute."

Alex was sure she recognized that voice from somewhere. She couldn't quite put a finger on it, though.

She quickly tied up the full bin bag that was resting on the floor by her feet and dumped it on the now much cleaner table next to the fresh bag that Alex was in the middle of opening. She adjusted her grey sweater that fit comfortably on her skin so she looked presentable to the customer and made her way out to the main store.

When Alex walked through the door, she scanned the bare room and spotted a tall blonde woman dressed in black trousers and white blazer that hugged her body in all of the right places looking at the shelf in the middle of the room that had the sign _Best Sellers _mounting above it.

They weren't really best sellers; they were a mix of Alex's favourite books and some that were obviously known to be very popular. There was a mix of classic novels that Alex often preferred and even one or two Harry Potter books was thrown in there so the title _Best Sellers _seemed more believable.

Once the blonde heard footsteps coming towards her, her head shot up and her expression lit up as soon as she laid her eyes on Alex. The raven haired girl knew she recognised that voice.

"Oh hey, Piper is it?" Alex spoke with a beaming smile, unsure of why she was so happy to see the blonde again.

Piper nodded her head with a large smile of her own, confirming Alex had remembered her name correctly.

"Funny bumping into you again" Piper spoke, the joy evident in her tone.

"You don't have any cups of coffee hiding anywhere do you?" Alex stepped back slightly as if trying to prepare herself to run if Piper somehow pulled cups of coffee out of her bag.

Piper laughed and held her hand up, palms facing the taller girl. "Nope, I'm clean. You won't be getting any third degree burns today."

"Hey at least it kept me warm when I was walking home."

"Oh god," the blonde chuckled and ran her fingers through her hair as she shook her head. "I bet your shirt was ruined."

"Yeah it's not in very good shape, I threw it out actually."

Pipers look of content slowly disappeared from her face and morphed into a slightly crestfallen expression at having ruined a piece of Alex's clothing to the point she had to throw it in the trash.

"I'm really sorry."

Alex instantly regretted telling the blonde she had to throw her shirt away, she hated seeing Piper look so pissed at herself. The shirt was never going to look brand new again, you would think that Alex just took a cup of coffee and deliberately poured it all over herself it was that bad.

Alex didn't really mind though. Of course it was embarrassing walking back to her apartment with a huge mess on her torso but it's not like the raven haired girl would ever see those people that gave her dirty looks ever again so why should she care. It's not exactly like the item of clothing was from Prada's limited edition range either; it was only about ten dollars so it wasn't a huge loss throwing it away.

"Don't be sorry, it was old anyway and it was a little too small."

Bullshit. It fit perfectly and Alex often wore it because it was one of the comfiest things she owned, but she thought she'd lie to Piper so the blonde didn't feel as bad for ruining it and simply because Alex was fed up with the smaller girl apologizing.

Piper smiled, silently thanking Alex for being so understanding.

After a few moments of watching the smaller girl pick idly at the corner of a book on display on one of the shelves next to her, Alex remembered that Piper was in fact a customer.

"So, are you looking for anything in particular?"

Piper looked towards the large display of books to her right, scanning the covers for anything that seemed to jump out at her. She didn't know what she was looking for exactly; the blonde just wanted something interesting. Piper had been _extremely _bored the past few days and she was running out of ideas to keep herself occupied. Polly had been extra busy recently with wedding plans, her and Pete had made up within about an hour of her and Pipers meeting at the bistro so everything was back to normal, so she didn't have any time to spend with Piper never mind make bath products with her. The business kept Piper active and busy and it was too much of a handful to do on her own, so that activity was going to be postponed for a while.

Piper had caught up on all of her favourite shows so she had nothing to do during the day apart from flick through the hundreds of channels on her TV only to find absolutely nothing to watch. She could only work out for so long before she got exhausted so the only option left that would give her something to do was reading a book. Unsurprisingly, Piper didn't have a single book in her apartment and that morning when the blonde was out on her early morning run she ran past the book store she was now stood in, so she thought it was worth attempting to at least looking for something that piqued her interest.

Piper didn't think she would bump into the mysterious and intriguing Alex Vause that she was so hopeful she would meet again, so it's safe to say that she is pretty glad she decided to go on the hunt for a good book.

The blonde opened her mouth to speak but closed it again when she realized she didn't have the faintest clue what type of book she wanted.

"I'm not sure." She laughed, causing a small smile to break out on Alex's face too. "I'm not really much of a reader."

Alex paused, attempting to think of the appropriate piece of literature for the blonde. "Well we have all kinds of stuff, what genres do you like?"

Piper blushed, "I really don't know," she paused, "What's your favourite?"

Alex was taken aback by the question; no one really asked her what her favourite book was. Even though it was only a small gesture Alex appreciated it. Piper seemed to be genuinely interested.

"Let me think," Alex said with a small laugh. She had lost count the amount of books she had read, she had a new favourite almost every week so thinking about which was one of the best on the spot was quite tricky.

Once the title of a book popped into her head it was almost as if she had a light bulb above the head moment.

"Follow me; I know the perfect one for you."

Alex brushed past Piper and started advancing towards a tall book case that was pushed up against a wall; the blonde followed eagerly awaiting the raven haired girl's choice. Once she arrived at the desired shelf, Alex raised her hand and traced her finger over the spines of books that were stacked neatly in the pale wooden case as she tried to find the title she was looking for.

Piper watched the girl from behind fascinated by her actions, it was quite sexy seeing Alex look so focused.

"Here we are." Alex muttered to herself once she had found the title she was searching for, barely loud enough for Piper to hear. She pulled out a reasonably thick book with a red cover that had small gold writing printed on the front that Piper didn't get a chance to properly look at as Alex held it firmly in her hands.

"What is it?" The blonde asked sounding quite confused.

Alex smirked, it was a sight that Piper was getting used to and enjoyed seeing. "It's my favourite book."

The raven haired girl held out the novel towards Piper and the blonde took it reluctantly. Piper read the title, it was something she had never heard of which wasn't very unpredictable. She turned to book over so she could read the blurb on the back but was faced with a problem that Alex thought was quite funny.

There wasn't a blurb. What type of book doesn't have a blurb?

Piper looked up at Alex with a blank expression; the taller girl had one eyebrow raised in anticipation, a smirk tugging at her red lips.

"What's it about?"

"Read it and find out." Alex fired back the satire comment almost instantly.

"What if I don't like it?"

"You will."

"You're not giving me much to go off here."

Alex smirked. "I don't want to spoil anything for you."

"Not even a tiny clue?" Piper raised her hand and moved her thumb and index finger together, creating a small gap between them so she emphasized what she meant by 'tiny'. Alex simply shook her head only to be met with a disappointed and slightly annoyed sigh by the blonde.

Alex was enjoying getting Piper wound up.

"Just know that it's my favourite book for a reason."

"Is that all I'm getting?"

Alex nodded and embraced a more relaxed position as she leaned her left side against the book case.

"Fine," the blonde rolled her eyes, slightly frustrated at how vague the raven haired girl was being and reached into the bag that was resting comfortably on her forearm.

"How much is it?" Piper spoke as she continued searching inside her bag for her purse, Alex held up her hand in protest and Piper immediately halted her actions.

"You don't need to pay for it. Consider it a gift."

Even though Alex needed the money, she didn't want to charge Piper. If she was just a normal everyday customer Alex would have charged the original price and maybe a little extra that she could keep for herself. But Piper wasn't a 'normal customer'; there was something about her that was different and for some peculiar reason Alex didn't feel right taking her money, even if it was only a couple of dollars.

Piper hesitated, still holding her purse firmly in one hand and the book in her other. "Are you sure? I don't mind paying."

"I'm positive." Alex's tone was reassuring as she spoke, yet another crooked smile adorned her lips.

"It's your favourite book though, I feel bad taking it for free."

Alex laughed at the blonde's innocence. "That book is for the store, I have my own copy in my apartment. Take it."

Piper pictured the scene in her mind; she pictured Alex lied on the couch with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate reading a copy of the book she had just handed over to the blonde. Piper could imagine her apartment being filled with books much like her store is. Piper continued thinking of the pleasant scenario in her mind as she watched Alex take a pen from her pocket that she had picked up in the back room and remove its cap swiftly.

"I need a favour from you though. You know, in return of giving you that book for free"

Piper carefully placed the book and her purse back into her bag and looked up at Alex, awaiting her request.

What favour could she possibly want? The blonde didn't mind helping Alex out, it was the least she could do after being allowed to take the novel for free.

"What is it?"

The raven haired girl reached forward and grabbed hold of one of Pipers hands and gently pulled it closer to her. Piper was taken aback at Alex's actions, she wasn't complaining though. The sudden feeling of Alex's cold hand on hers created what felt like a swarm of butterflies in her stomach and a warm feeling spread throughout her entire body like wildfire.

Piper could definitely get used to the feeling of Alex's smooth skin on hers.

Alex began scribbling down something that resembled numbers on to Pipers skin, she subconsciously squeezed the blonde's hand gently and pulled it a little closer to her so she could write easier, only making the butterflies grow and grow in Pipers stomach.

Once she had finished writing, Alex removed the pen from Pipers sun kissed skin yet still kept hold of her hand firmly as she read over the numbers, double checking she got them right. Once the taller girl was satisfied, she let loose Pipers hand and the blonde instantly missed the contact.

"I want you to text me." Piper's eyes widened and Alex simply raised one of her eyebrows, teasing the smaller woman and tried her best to keep a straight face at the expression of the clearly flustered woman in front of her.

"Text you?" Piper looked at the number written on her hand and back at the intoxicating woman who wrote it.

Why did Alex make Piper feel like a schoolgirl? Piper felt like she was under some sort of spell that Alex had cast on her that made her turn into a complete and utter idiot. There was something about her that made Piper feel like she was back in school and in the company of her first crush.

Piper couldn't possibly have a 'crush' on Alex though, could she? They had only ever been in the company of one another twice and they hardly knew each other. Also, Piper was most definitely _not _gay so the thought of having feelings for the taller girl had was dismissed as quickly as they appeared.

"That's my number," Alex nodded her head towards the ink that covered the back of Piper's hand; "I want you to text me and tell me what you think of the book."

The idea of texting Alex made Piper want to jump with joy. Even if the blonde thought the book was absolutely dreadful, she would still text Alex praising how astounding it was and how it has her hooked on every word because then at least they would be _talking _to each other_, _something which Piper (and Alex) had hoped would happen again after their rather odd first meeting.

A coy smile grew on Piper's flawless face.

"Alright then, Alex."

The way the raven haired girls name rolled off Pipers tongue almost made Alex come undone right there and then. Alex however, could keep her composure much better than the blonde could. Piper was completely oblivious that Alex was fighting a strenuous battle of trying to prevent herself from practically leaping onto her.

With a teasing smile still showing, Piper continued. "I'm really busy though so I don't know when I'll have a chance to read it."

That was the biggest pile of bullshit that Piper had ever said. She was most definitely not busy nor would she be any time soon. The blonde just wanted to keep Alex waiting; she wanted to keep her hooked on every word she said.

Alex knew Piper was talking utter crap; both women knew that as soon has Piper got home she would start reading the book that was sat in the blondes bag virtually calling her name and Piper would do nothing else but read for as long as she physically could. Alex let Piper believe that she was getting one over on her mainly because watching the blonde attempt to be a tease was the most attractive thing Alex had ever seen in her entire 28 years on earth. The way the corner of her mouth twitched into a mischievous smirk and the way her baby blue eyes glinted with life made Alex feel some type of way she hadn't ever felt before.

And she liked it. She wanted more.

Now though, it was Alex's turn to play the tease.

"Well then, if you're _so_ busy I better let you go then." The word 'so' was laced with sarcasm and Alex had to chew on her bottom lip to prevent herself from laughing in Pipers face. The blonde's expression instantly dropped, she regretted saying she was busy; Piper didn't want to leave Alex so soon.

Trying her best to keep up her phlegmatic demeanor, Piper spoke. "Yeah you're right, I should probably go. I've got so much stuff to do you see."

Alex wouldn't be surprised if she drew blood since she was biting down on her bottom lip that hard. Piper was just like a child, it was hilarious to watch.

"Oh I can imagine." To Alex's disbelief, Piper was completely unaware to the sarcasm in her tone that Alex couldn't make any more obvious if she tried.

After a short moment of comfortable silence, Piper spoke up. "I should get going then." Piper pointed in the direction of the door that was situated behind her.

"Don't forget that text."

Piper felt heat suddenly rising to her cheeks. "Don't worry, I won't."

The blonde slowly started moving backwards towards the door to the store, still facing Alex as she didn't want to be looking at anything besides the captivating woman opposite her. Sadly though, Piper had to turn around sooner or later or else she would knock something over and then she would really make a fool of herself.

"Bye, then."

"Bye." Alex offered a small wave towards Piper and watched her turn her back, giving Alex an absolutely amazing view of her ass in her figure hugging trousers. Alex enjoyed the view of Pipers back as much as she did the front.

Alex continued to watch the blonde as she gracefully moved closer and closer towards the door, Piper could feel Alex's eyes burning into her and so she deliberately tried to make her movements more elegant as she practically glided towards the exit. She moved her hand that Alex had scribbled her number on and towards the door handle and turned it swiftly, swinging the door open and causing a cooling winter breeze to come flooding into the store.

Piper stepped out into the crisp air of New York and shut the door behind her, still able to feel Alex watching her. She paused briefly and took a deep breath in before she put one foot forward on to the worn down sidewalk outside of the book store and eventually vanishing from Alex's line of sight. The raven haired girl stood frozen on the spot for a minute or so, attempting to compose herself and also trying to remember what task she was doing before Piper came into her store.

The she remembered, she was cleaning that dismal stock room. No matter how much Alex wanted to leave it as it was, she really needed to clean it and it was better to do it now than leave it and only allow it to get worse with the more things she dumps in it. She strode over to the open door and as she entered the room, Alex felt her phone vibrate in her back pocket.

She pulled out the device and held it securely in her hand. It was from an unknown number but Alex gave a short laugh when she figured out who had sent it straightaway.

_Unknown:  
>So, not even one clue?<em>


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Okay so sorry for the confusion with me deleting and re up loading the previous chapter, the typos on it were really annoying me so there was no way I was just leaving it. Sadly I didn't get rid of all of them but hopefully you can just overlook it and it won't happen in future haha, enjoy this chapter! (hopefully it doesn't have any typos)

* * *

><p>"Oh my God can you please get your head out of that book for two minutes?"<p>

Piper slammed the red paperback down on her lap and looked up at Polly who was sat on the other end of the couch looking rather displeased, an expression that had been on show more frequently than usual. Piper hadn't been able to put the book that Alex had given to her down all weekend and she was just getting to the exciting part when Polly let herself into the blonde's home and disturbed her.

"What, Polly?" Piper spoke sounding much more peeved than she initially intended, Polly scoffed at her friends harsh tone and rolled her eyes.

"Why have you been so morbid these past few days? And when the fuck did you start reading?"

Piper picked up the novel from her lap and folded the corner of the page so she wouldn't lose her place and leaned forward out of her cocoon like state on the sofa so she could place the book on the wooden coffee table that sat upon a large cream rug in the middle of the decent sized living room. Piper turned her body so she was facing Polly and rested her back on the arm of the couch, propping up a plump cushion behind her so she was more comfortable.

Piper shrugged, "I've just been in the mood for reading."

"_Just in the mood for reading,_ when have you ever been interested in books?"

The way Polly mimicked Pipers voice made her blood boil; she hated it when her friend thought she was being funny because ninety percent of the time she was just being fucking annoying.

"Does it really matter? I just felt like doing something new. You should try it."

If Polly rolled her eyes one more time they would probably fall out of her head. Piper let out a discontented sigh and adjusted her position on the couch so that her legs were crossed underneath her and the blanket she had brought in from her bedroom was draped over her front. Polly looked at her with prying eyes and waited a moment before she decided to quiz her friend further.

"Where did you even get it?"

"Wow, Pol is this 'quiz Piper over her new book' day?"

Polly held up her hands in defence, shocked at how frustrated Piper was. "My God, don't rip my head off, I'm just curious."

The blonde took a deep breath; she was getting far too annoyed. You would think she had just been slapped in the face and not disturbed reading a goddamn book.

"Alex gave it to me."

The brunette's expression was blank with confusion, "Alex?"

Piper waved her hand in circular motions as she tried to think of the correct words to describe the raven haired girl, "She owns a bookstore a couple of blocks away from that bistro we always go to."

Polly grimaced, "Oh _that_ place? It's a bit of a dump."

Piper looked at the girl sat opposite her, anger causing her to grit her teeth at the statement Polly had just produced. How dare she be so prejudice over Alex's store? She's probably never been inside it and will have no intentions of doing such a thing so why judge a perfectly good store that had a very homely and welcoming vibe to it by its appearance from outside on the street? Sure, it didn't look the best from the outside but Alex was running that place by herself and she was doing a damn good job keeping that place going and keeping everything so organized and spotless. Piper clenched her fists; she was getting much too defensive over Alex's store which blonde believed to be the exact opposite of a dump.

"It's not a dump. It's just seen better days."

Polly laughed sarcastically, "Whatever you say."

Piper's phone vibrated on the coffee table next to where she had set down her book. She eagerly reached out and her movements was so quick and unexpected she actually made Polly jump as she grabbed hold of the device to see who had text her.

It was Alex.

The two women had been texting non-stop ever since Piper had walked out of the raven haired girls store and Piper was always seemed to be waiting for the next message to come through; it was like she was a teenager all over again. Sometimes Alex replied almost instantly which of course the blonde much preferred but other times it felt like a lifetime since she finally sent her message, which was understandable considering she does actually have a job whereas Piper is just sat at home huddled up on the couch in a position she hasn't moved from for the past three hours and has no intentions of doing so anytime soon. They talked about numerous different things, mostly about the book Piper was reading and also currently loving which made Alex extremely pleased and smug at knowing that the blonde would enjoy it. Sometimes they talked about complete and utter crap that both of them loved no matter how pointless it was. Alex often texted Piper saying how bored she was at work and occasionally she even sent her pictures she had stealthily taken of a customer that had wandered into her store with a message quickly sent after it making fun of them, they often had Piper crying with laughter. Judging by Alex's descriptions and the photos Piper had received, there were some seriously odd people living in New York.

Even though Piper still didn't know much about Alex, it felt like they had known each other far longer than just a couple of days. They had really hit it off with one another; Piper felt like she could talk to Alex about anything and the feeling was mutual for the brunette. Every time Alex's name flashed up on her phone with a little book emoji next to it that Piper though would be funny if she put, the blonde felt a feeling of warmth and relief spread throughout her body. When Alex text her, she felt happy.

After scrambling for her phone and finally getting a firm hold around it, Piper quickly unlocked it and read the message that Alex had sent her while she proudly wore a large smile on her face.

_Alex:  
>He won't leave me alone!<em>

Alex had text her earlier in the afternoon making fun of yet another customer who a couple of weeks ago had originally come into her store looking for directions but somehow ended up coming on to her, even though Alex had politely turned the very bland looking gentleman in his early thirties down he was still extremely persistent and would not take no for an answer. About half an hour ago he had returned only to Alex's dread, it's possibly the only time she's a tad bit disgruntled at the sight of a customer. The raven haired had said that he was pretending to be browsing for books to 'research' from and when Alex went over to help him he gradually turned the conversation into asking her out for a dinner date, again.

Piper thought it was hilarious.

Polly watched her friends every move as she grinned like an idiot and typed out her reply. "Who's got you so happy?"

Piper's eyes were locked on her phone as she spoke, "Oh it's nothing."

The brunette scoffed, "It's definitely not nothing. I've not seen you this happy in ages."

Piper glanced up from her phone and her eyes met with Polly's invasive gaze for a split second before she focused her attention once again on the device in her hand.

"It's just Alex, some random guy won't leave her alone and she's telling me what's going on."

Polly moved closer to her friend and tried to sneak a look at the messages that was being exchanged but Piper speedily snapped her phone back and pressed it against her chest before the other girl could see anything.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

Polly sighed in defeat and retreated back to her original position on the couch. Once she was a reasonable distance away Piper peeled the phone from her chest and finished typing out her message and briefly read it over before pressing send.

_Piper:  
>I know the feeling. Polly won't leave my apartment and she's really pissing me off.<em>

Polly waited for Piper to put down her phone before she replied, "I just want to know if it's this Alex that has turned you into a book obsessed crazy person."

"A book obsessed crazy person? Really?"

"Yeah! I've not seen you all weekend and when I do finally see you you're obsessing over some book and laughing into your phone like a kid. What gives?"

"It's nothing…" The blonde trailed off when she felt her phone vibrate in her hand.

_Alex:  
>Oh god what does Dolly want now?<em>

_Piper:  
>I don't actually know to be honest, I'll try and get rid of her.<em>

"Okay sure."

Piper locked her phone and threw it down onto her lap; Polly's expression lightened a fraction once she knew she had her friend's attention properly this time.

"How come you're here anyway?"

"You've forgot? I told you yesterday that I needed to talk to you about flower arrangements for the wedding."

Piper paused before offering impassive reply when she remembered agreeing to let Polly come over. "Oh, I remember now."

The brunette had called Piper mid-afternoon yesterday explaining that she was having trouble with the flower arrangements and she needed Pipers assistance, she remembered Polly saying she wanted the blonde to help her pick a new type of flower or something like that because the type Polly had originally wanted turned out to be too expensive. Piper though, had her mind else ware and was really not feeling up to dealing with her friend at this moment in time and she wasn't even trying to seem interested with whatever the brunette had planned.

Polly leaned forward so she was now perched on the edge of the reasonably new sofa and pulled out a thick catalogue from her bag that had a glossy picture of a large vase with white roses expertly placed inside it on the cover. Piper really couldn't be bothered flicking through hundreds of pages of flowers with stupid names for hours on end; she really needed to get rid of Polly, and the blonde was trying her best to think of an excuse to postpone this arduous task.

"Okay so I've looked through this catalogue and I've circled some of the flowers that I like and I need you to help me de-" Before Polly had the chance to finish her sentence, she was cut off by the blonde next to her who was just desperate for her to leave.

"-Pol," If looks kill Piper would be six feet under because of the glare her friend had just given her, clearly extremely displeased at being interrupted before she had the opportunity to go off on another one of her tangents. "Can we do this another time?"

Polly furrowed her brows, creating all sorts of wrinkles on her forehead and twisted her position so she was now once again facing Piper, "We can't do this another time Piper. If we leave it any longer there won't be any flowers at my wedding."

"I doubt leaving it one more day would hurt. I'm not feeling too good and I just want to be left alone for a while. Please."

A frustrated Polly picked at the hem of her very dull looking grey shirt that had started to lose its shape through the amount of times she had worn it and exhaled sharply. If she refused to leave, Piper would make the task of picking appropriate flowers for the upcoming wedding as difficult as she possibly could so that the brunette would eventually leave through vexation. But if things went Pipers way and Polly did postpone things until a later date, she could finally return to reading the book that was waiting patiently on the coffee table. Piper looked at her friend with pleading eyes and Polly's lour expression only got worse. The blonde knew that she had originally promised to help out the bride to be through everything but today she didn't have the energy to deal with a critical and extremely picky Polly. Luckily though for Piper, the brunette once again leaned forward and slammed her hand down onto the catalogue and dragged it off the coffee table, she practically threw it back into her bag as Piper bit down on her lip and tried her damn hardest not to smile with complete and utter joy at Polly's defeat. She always was one to throw tantrums when things never went her way.

"You know what, fine." She stood up from her space on the couch and allowed Piper to spread out and place her long legs clad in baggy sweatpants in the warm spot that had now been freed up. "We won't do it today, but I'll be back here tomorrow and I will only leave when we have things sorted."

Piper nodded, not wanting to say anything that would extend Polly's stay. She didn't know why her friend couldn't decide what flowers she wanted on her own because it really wasn't that hard, plus she didn't know why the brunette decide against her original decision because they were actually half decent looking flowers. But of course, everything has to be perfect.

Polly spun around on her heel and scuttled out of the living room without uttering a goodbye and her loud footsteps could still be heard as she stormed down the corridor and swiftly swung open the front door and slammed it shut behind her a second or two later. A smile that Piper had been trying desperately to hide finally broke out on her face and caused underneath her eyes to crease. She picked up her phone that had slid off her lap during conversation and now rested on the edge of the couch and re-opened her messages to Alex.

_Piper:  
>She's gone, finally<em>

* * *

><p>One more hour, just one more hour that would more than likely feel like six and Alex could go home. You would think that Alex could go home whenever she pleases considering she does in fact own the store but despite this the brunette always felt like she needed to shut up shop exactly when the sign pinned up in the store window said she would just in case an customers came by and the doors to the store were locked, this certain predicament was very rare though.<p>

Luckily, Piper had been keeping Alex occupied for most of the day through texts and at some points of the day the blonde even had her laughing quite loudly to herself when they were discussing Alex's new stalker who had paid yet another visit that day and left with no more than what he had turned up with. Alex was glad she wrote her number on the other girls hand because if she didn't, her day would have been like hell.

The day had been productive despite how boring it was. The stock room was finally clean and tidy and Alex was surprised at how much space there actually was in it now that everything had a place. It didn't take her to long to finish sorting it out since she had spread the workload out over a couple of days and now that it was finally organized, it was like a huge weight had been lifted off of Alex's shoulders. More customers than usual had paid a visit to the store yet it still wasn't a drastic amount but Alex wasn't complaining, as long as she got money that went towards paying the bills she was satisfied.

Alex was currently sat in her usual place on the small wooden stool behind the counter and she had her right elbow resting on the surface in front of her and her chin was resting lazily in her palm. The room was silent and the muffled sounds of traffic were coming from outside and every now and then an impatient driver sounded their car horn. Those type of people really grinded Alex's gears, there was nothing worse than being stuck in a traffic jam with goodness knows how many people and some asshole decides to start honking their horn at no one in particular thinking it would achieve something. It was annoying as fuck and totally unnecessary, the more the brunette thought about it the more she was getting herself wound up, but when her phone lit up next to her elbow that was covered by the material of her burgundy and black plaid shirt, and a message from a particular blonde that had been one of the main focus of Alex's thoughts over the past few days had appeared on the screen, Alex suddenly felt calm again.

_Piper:  
>I can't believe he dies! He was my favourite oh my god I can't believe that<em> _just happened_

Alex smirked and took the hand that her chin was currently resting on and picked up her phone. Piper must have got to the point in the book where one of the main characters is killed by his own brother or something along those lines; it was quite far on in the novel so Alex was surprised at how quickly it had taken the blonde to read that much in such a short period of time. Alex was complacent knowing that she had picked the perfect book for Piper without really giving it much thought. The brunette predicted that Piper would absolutely hate it considering that it wasn't a mainstream novel and it that had a quirky story line and also the fact Piper probably hadn't read since she was in education, so it was a slight shock at her unexpected reaction towards to book so far.

_Alex:  
>That's my favourite part. Where are you up to now?<em>

Within seconds Piper had replied, what Alex didn't know was that the blonde was sat at home in her warm nest-like position on the sofa that she hadn't been able to pry herself from for hours, phone in one hand and book in the other waiting eagerly for Alex to reply and typing out her message like there was a cash prize on offer if she sent it within a certain time period once Alex did finally send a text back.

_Piper:  
>I'm up to that part just after when that guy dies and the other main character has just walked into the bar. I think I might take a break though and read more tomorrow.<em>

_Alex:  
>Oh this part is good if I'm thinking about the right part. You should come by the store sometime and we can talk about what happens.<em>

Alex laughed quietly to herself as she read over her own words. Of course they wouldn't talk about the book. They would hopefully do anything but that. Alex desperately wanted to see the slightly gawky yet incredibly sexy blonde stood in the middle of her store dressed in another one of her snugly fitting blouses and slim fitting trousers that accentuated those slender legs that seemed to go on forever. Alex wanted to delve deeper and uncover more about the blonde character that she had only encountered face to face twice, however whenever the two women spoke to each other both of them felt like they was talking to someone they had known for years and not hardly a week.

About thirty minutes' drive away from the store, Piper was tucked up underneath an old blanket in her apartment sat in front of the turned off TV staring at her phone attempting to fabricate a reply to the message she had just received.

Yes. She just wanted to say yes as much as she possibly could. Obviously though that wouldn't be the best thing to say so instead Piper just sat there with her mind completely blank. She wanted to see Alex again without a doubt. Piper missed her company and bizarrely she wanted to feel like a child again, the same way she felt when she wandered into the store completely oblivious to who owned it, no matter how stupid she may have appeared. Piper had never met someone that made her lose the ability to breathe steadily simply by _looking _at them. Both times that Piper laid eyes on Alex she could feel her heart pounding against her chest like it was trying to break free as her eyes scanned each and every part of Alex's face that no matter how clichéd it sounds, looked like a work of art.

_Piper:  
>Sure, I'll stop by soon<em>

That was simple enough. It didn't give away the fact that Piper would literally jump at the chance to meet Alex again yet it still seemed as if she had kept her cool which was a great relief. The big question now was when was _soon_? The blonde didn't want to seem too eager by making her way down to the book store that very afternoon but she didn't want to wait days. Alex didn't particularly want to wait too long either since she wasn't a very patient person; hopefully she wouldn't have to be patient when it came to waiting for the blonde.  
>There were only a couple of chapters left in the book so why not go to the store once it had been finished? Then the pair would actually have a definite subject to talk about in the extremely rare chance their conversation runs dry and maybe Piper can come away with a new piece of reading material which Polly would more than likely want to burn because of it taking her friends attention away from herself and the wedding Piper now regrets promising to help plan, and instead focusing it all on the book which didn't actually seem like a bad idea.<p>

_Alex:  
>See you later then<em>

* * *

><p>The white wooden door to Alex's apartment swung open and the tall brunette trudged through the doorway and dumped her black backpack down on the small table that was pushed up against the wall by the entrance and kicked off her boots next to the table legs; she didn't bother to make them look tidy. Today had been a long day, it was almost the weekend and much like every week when it was coming to an end, it was starting to drag like hell. The day had been very monotonous; the store was empty all day and no chores needed to be done so Alex sat in her usual position slumped behind the counter all day, only ever moving when she had to go to the bathroom. The brunette had hoped that Piper would stop by after she said she would the previous day but she never got round to doing so, she said she was helping out Holly or whatever her name was with wedding preparations and she didn't have time to stop by. Piper had to turn off her phone and set it aside so she wasn't distracted and mainly so Polly wouldn't get pissed off which took incredible willpower, Alex spent about 2 hours sat in silence daydreaming about goodness knows what waiting for Piper to turn her phone back on.<p>

When Piper finally text her saying she was free to talk Alex dialled her number instead so she could make up for the two hours they had lost. It was the first time they had spoken over the phone and they more than likely raked up one huge phone bill by doing so. It was nice hearing one another's voice over the phone, Alex's raspy tones still sounded like liquid gold and Pipers softer and calming voice soothed Alex, so deciding to call her had been one of her better ideas.

Alex shuffled into the kitchen searched through her cabinets attempting to find a large cup and once she finally got her hands on one she set it down on the worktop. She grabbed hold of a large pot of coffee that she had bought over the weekend and started to tip some of it into the cup she had placed down when a loud knock from her hallway grabbed her attention. Alex halted her current task and swiftly made her way towards the front door and opened it slightly so she could see who was behind the unnecessarily loud knocking.

"Are you going to let me in or not?" Nicky asked sarcastically as she ran her fingers through her wild locks and a half smile grew on her constantly smug looking face. Alex stepped back and opened the door properly and Nicky strolled through the threshold into the warm territory of the taller girl's home.

"Nice to see you too." Alex quipped at her friend who was now at the opposite end of the hallway stepping into the living room chuckling lightly. The brunette followed and passed through the living room and made her way back to the kitchen where she was in the middle of making a much needed cup of the raven haired girl had resumed her task she shouted through to Nicky who had made herself at home like she usually did on the small couch that could be seen from where Alex was currently stood, "I'm making a coffee, do you want one?"

"Have you got any beers?"

Of course Nicky wanted a beer; it was stupid really asking if she wanted coffee, the smaller girl probably sweats beer because she drinks so much of it. Alex stepped back and opened the fridge that was the same size as her and her eyes immediately met a row of six beers taking up one of the shelves. She reached in the fridge and pulled out two bottles, one for her and one for Nicky. It had been a hard day and now Alex thought about it she much preferred a cold, refreshing beer instead of a coffee. She scrambled around in a nearby drawer for a bottle opener and once she retrieved it she strolled into the living room and sat in the chair that was positioned next to the couch Nicky was slouched in.

The smaller girl glanced at her friend and took a sip of her beer, "You look like shit Vause."

Alex raised her eyebrows, both from shock and slight offence. She did however agree, she hadn't been looking her best recently. The store had been struggling a lot over the past few weeks and Alex was beginning to find it hard keeping the place open.

The raven haired girl worked at the store when she was still in high school, her mom was juggling several jobs all at once and it was really taking its toll on her. Alex couldn't stand to see her mom so stressed so she took it upon herself to help out and earn a small income for the pair of them. She got a job at the local bookstore which was obviously much more popular back then since there were no phones or computers to read books on. Alex loved working there, the owners were almost like her second parents and the store was her safe place. Alex left the house for work at 10am every morning and left the store at 5pm every evening and Alex abosolutely adored every single second of it. Once the original owners decided that they wanted to go into retirement they handed the ownership over to Alex since she was so close to them, and because she had worked there nearly every day for three years, she happily accepted to take on challenge of owning her very own store. By doing this she could really help her mom out, for the first couple of months Alex split her earnings from the store and kept half for herself and gave the other half to her mom and it really made a big difference. It was only until the owners died that Alex found out the store was thousands of dollars in debt that the brunette was utterly oblivious to. Alex was angry, in fact she was livid. She couldn't believe that she had been lied to for all this time and the store was handed over to her simply so she could handle all the mountain sized problems that came with it and the old owners could have a happy retirement. She couldn't sell the store until she paid off the debt so instead she had to live with this huge problem. Alex didn't want to lose the store because it had been a part of her life for as long as she could remember but recently she had been having issues with paying the bills and the prospect of the store closing down was becoming more and more likely.

The stress was really beginning to show. Alex had dark circles under her eyes constantly and whenever she was around people she was more quiet than usual because she was constantly thinking about what she could do to stop her beloved store from being closed down and turned into another fucking café, like New York doesn't have enough of them already.

Alex let out a long sigh and shrugged her shoulders, "I'm just really stressed out."

"Is it the store?"

The taller girl nodded, "I got a letter from the bank this morning saying if I don't pay a certain amount of money by the end of the year they'll have to take action."

"It's only the end of September, you still have time." Nicky took another long gulp from the bottle in her hands and placed it on the coffee table in front of her.

"You haven't seen how much I need to pay yet."

Nicky paused as she tried to string together a sentence that would cheer up Alex even the tiniest bit, "You know what you need?" Nicky asked, pointing her finger at Alex.

The raven haired girl furrowed her brows, "What?"

"You need to get absolutely off your face with who better than me?"

Of course Nicky's answer to all Alex's problems involved them getting drunk. Not like it was a bad thing, Alex loved going to bars with her best friend because every time they went out together something absolutely ridiculous happens to one of them that has them laughing for days afterwards, but this time Alex wasn't really feeling up to it.

"I don't know, I'm not really in the mood."

Nicky's expression dropped and she shook her head, "C'mon Alex, you'll regret it."

"I know I will but we can always go out another time."

Nicky moved to the opposite end of the couch so she was closer to Alex and placed her elbow on the fabric arm of the sofa, "Our favourite bar is having a happy hour tonight."

Alex laughed; Nicky wasn't going to give up until she got what she wanted so there was no point really in trying to turn her down. Before Alex could speak her phone vibrated on her lap and when the brunette checked to see who it was that had text her she smiled when she read Pipers name on her home screen.

_Piper:  
>I finished the book!<em>

Alex started at the screen for a couple of seconds leaving Nicky sat opposite her slightly confused by her friends sudden silence and still waiting patiently for an answer.

"Alex?"

Alex's green eyes shot up and met Nicky's questioning ones, "Hey, can I bring someone?"

Nicky furrowed her brows, "Who?"

"It doesn't matter, you'll find out who tomorrow."

The smaller girl shrugged, "Fair enough. If that means you won't be stuck in this apartment tomorrow night then sure, bring as many people as you want."

"Ok good, be here for seven like usual."

Nicky nodded and was slightly relieved that the conversation took quicker than she had first expected, she took a final swig from the beer she received when she first arrived and placed the now empty bottle back on the small table and abruptly stood to her full height. "That's all I stopped by for, see you tomorrow then," She smirked and offered a small wave before making her way towards the door.

"See you tomorrow," Alex tilted her head and called out to her friend who was now out of sight and she turned back her head when the sound of the door shutting sounded throughout the apartment. Alex swiped to the side on her phone and typed in her password and started writing her message back to Piper.

_Alex:  
>You finished it quicker than I thought haha. Stop by the store tomorrow, I need to ask you something.<em>


	4. Chapter 4

Piper's stiletto heels pounded against the sidewalk beneath her as she briskly walked through the streets of New York with her slender arms folded tightly against her chest to keep her warm in the cold early winter's breeze. She was wrapped up in a black trench coat that covered a plain white t-shirt and today she had gone for black jeans rather than her usual slim fit trousers. You would think she had just come out of a swanky office building where she worked as a managing director and not her very normal apartment where she was doing nothing particularly productive. Piper Chapman was more about staying fashionable than actually wearing the right type of clothing for the weather. She really needed to rethink her priorities.

Her destination was a small bookstore about five more minutes' walk away where a brunette that Piper had been talking to non-stop for almost a week was waiting for her arrival. The previous night Alex had text Piper asking her to stop by the store, something which Piper was originally planning to do once she had finished the book that had pretty much taken over her life (everyone dies which made Piper really pissed off, apart from that, it was a really good book).

Considering it was only the end of September, it was _really_ cold and Piper was wishing she had worn some more appropriate clothes for the weather. Her cheeks and the tips of her nose were a rosy red and every time a piercing gust of wind blew it felt like the temperature had dropped about ten degrees. Piper had pulled the material of her coat so it covered most of her hands in an attempt to keep them warm and they were tucked underneath her upper arms that were practically glued to her chest, it helped a little bit but her hands were still almost numb.

The store wasn't too far away at this point, only a couple of minutes or so. Pipers walking speed had drastically increased and her strides had become longer, she couldn't stand being outside when it was so cold and she just wanted to get to her desired location quicker because she knew it would be nice and warm. Her long legs carried her around the corner and her icy blue eyes focused on the large bay windows that belonged to Alex's shop at the end of a very long road.

_Only a couple more minutes, _Piper thought as she ploughed on.

* * *

><p>"Ten dollars please," Alex spoke as she pushed a button on the cash register that sent the tray that housed the money flying open, the gentleman who was probably in his mid-fifties with thin grey hair rummaged through his wallet and handed over two five dollar bills to Alex who was stood at the opposite side of the counter.<p>

"Thank you," He offered a warm smile before picking up the bag that the brunette had placed the two novels he had just purchased in. Alex politely smiled back and once he had begun making his way to the exit she bent down behind the counter and picked up a handful of bags from the built in cupboards to top up the pile that was already on the edge of the wooden surface. The bell to the store rang loudly signalling the customer's departure and a cold wind blew throughout the store causing goosebumps to form all over Alex's arms.

"Thanks."

Alex lifted her head so she could identify the owner of the voice that didn't belong to the person she had just served, Alex lifted her head so her eyes just popped over the counter and she saw Piper dressed in very formal looking attire passing through the doorway. The blonde offered the gentleman who was holding the door open for her a generous smile as she strolled into the store, the sudden change in temperature causing her to sigh in relief.

"You look freezing," Alex said as she stood and noticed the red tint to Pipers skin as she got closer to the counter and placed her also slightly pink fingers on the surface.

"I am, it feels like minus forty outside." Piper watched Alex as she placed the handful of white plastic bags on top of the already existing pile and tidied them so they were neat and not spewing everywhere.

"You should be ok in here, it's fucking boiling."

Piper flexed her fingers attempting to get some sensation back into them; it was far too cold for this time of year surely. "Hopefully," she paused for a moment before changing topic, "I finished the book!"

Alex grinned as the younger girls face lit up and a beaming smile that showed almost her entire top row of marvellously white teeth grew on her face that was finally beginning to lose its rosy colour. "Did you like it?"

"I loved it, it was a good choice."

Alex sat down on her stool and pushed her glasses further up her nose before propping both of her elbows on the counter that the blondes hands were still resting on, "Did you like the twist?"

Piper chewed the inside of her cheek through frustration showing that she was clearly not over the dramatic twist where pretty much everybody dies in the last chapter, "I couldn't believe it. I'm still not over it."

Alex chuckled at the blondes reaction, "Yeah I was pretty shocked too when I first read it. Well I'm glad you like it, maybe I can give you some more stuff to read."

Piper nodded, her eyes gleaming with life. "You should! Maybe let me in on a few other of your favourites."

Alex smiled causing underneath her eyes to crease ever so slightly. She was flattered that Piper was so interested in something that really meant a lot to her and something she was so passionate about, she was content that both of them now share a common interest which will hopefully be the first of many. "I've got a lot of favourites so it'll take a while to get through them all."

"I've got time." Piper drummed her fingers on the surface and Alex watched her movements as she created a small tune while trying to jog her memory for why she was here in the first place. "Oh, did you say you wanted to ask me something?"

Piper had been wondering what Alex could possibly want to ask her ever since she got the text last night, it couldn't really be that important or else the brunette would have told her then and not waited a full day and so the possibility of it being anything bad was thankfully very little.

Alex grasped an arm of her glasses between two of her fingers and moved them past her eyes so they mounted her head, an action which Piper for some reason absolutely loved seeing. The blonde didn't know when Alex looked best because without her glasses she looked ridiculously attractive to the point where it is actually unfair, but with glasses she still looks ridiculously attractive but with a hint of professionalism. Piper stared into the other woman's emerald green irises as she waited for her to speak, still quietly tapping out a tune with her fingers.

"I was just wondering, are you doing anything tonight?"

Piper raised her eyebrows, "Tonight?"

Alex nodded.

"Um, no I don't think so. Why?"

A smirk tugged at the corners of the raven haired girls red lips, which was another thing Piper had grown accustomed to seeing. "Do you want to go for some drinks tonight with me and Nicky?" The blonde furrowed her brows slightly at the knowledge of this 'Nicky' person. Who was she? How did Alex know her?

"Nicky?"

Alex chuckled, "You'll love her. I've known her pretty much all my life and she'll probably teach you a thing or two about drinking."

Piper felt relief wash over her at knowing that Nicky and Alex are just friends, however the reason as to why she was so relieved she still had to figure out. The two women had known each other a mere six or seven days so why should Piper care if Alex had anyone special in her life? Despite being invited out drinking with a woman she only very vaguely knew and another woman she had never even heard of up to a couple of seconds ago, Piper was absolutely delighted that the person that had been on her mind non-stop over the past couple of days had cared to ask her.

"Yeah, sure. I'd love to."

Alex also felt a sense of relief at hearing the blonde accept her request. It's not like if she got turned down Alex wouldn't go out and instead spend all night sat at home doing nothing, but she wanted Piper to come because she simply felt like it would be better if she did. Also, Alex wanted to see Piper get a couple of tequila shots into her system and show her lighter and more humorous side that the brunette hasn't really seen yet.

"Good," Alex sat up straight in her stool but still kept her elbows on the worktop and a contagious grin etched its way in to her features and Piper couldn't help but mirror Alex's expression.

"Where is it you go?"

"It's just this small bar in town and apparently there's a happy hour tonight." Piper slowly nodded her head as she listened to the woman adjacent to her and she continued to look dreamily at Alex as she continued. "I'll text you where it is later tonight."

"What time should I be there?"

Alex opened her mouth yet no sound came out as she thought of the most appropriate time for Piper to meet her and Nicky at the bar. Nicky was coming over to Alex's place at around 7pm and the two of them often had a beer before they turned out which was usually gone in only a couple of minutes, and the bar they was planning to go to wasn't that far from where Alex lived so it shouldn't take the pair of them long to get there.

"About seven thirty?"

Piper pressed the lock button on her phone and checked the time; it was much earlier than she had thought it was. Unlike Alex, Piper took absolutely forever getting ready because more often than not she did all of her hair and make-up just to then scrap it and start again because she didn't like it. She was getting better at it though, the past couple of times she was going somewhere she was extremely early because she was actually pleased with the outcome of her first try at getting herself all made up.

"Seven thirty it is then."

* * *

><p>"<em>Shit!" <em>Piper gasped when the incredibly hot curling iron accidentally touched her fingers while she was wrapping her hair around its hot surface. It was now around 7pm and Piper was almost finished getting ready and all she had to do now was finish curling one side of her head (hopefully without burning herself again) and she would be ready to go. Alex text her the address of the bar not too long ago and it was somewhere the blonde didn't recognize because of it being in a part of town she possibly hasn't ever ventured in.

Piper was excited to say the least. She was a little nervous about meeting this Nicky character but by Alex's short description of her she didn't seem too bad, so Piper wasn't fretting about it too much. Piper stayed for about an hour or so in Alex's store and their conversation easily flowed from one topic to the other without a single silence in between, Piper had learned more about what Alex and Nicky did on their nights out and it's safe to say she was amazed at what the brunette was telling her, the stories she told her were like scenarios that would happen in a movie because they were that outrageous. Piper listened to each story Alex told with her mouth in the perfect 'O' shape at some of the things she was told and the taller girls tales easily made her and Polly's nights out seem like a kids party, and so the blonde was eager to see what unfolded in the hours to come.

Piper set down the curling wand once she was finished and ruffled her fingers through her hair and let the tousled curls rest on her shoulders that were covered with the white material of her skin tight dress that came up to just above her knees and had a small slit on one side showing off her long, golden brown legs. She stood from her seat in front of the full length mirror in her bedroom and smoothed down the material of her dress so it was free from any unwanted creases before stepping into her red high heels that boosted her height by an extra four or five inches. Piper picked up her black clutch bag from the pristine sheets of her large double bed and checked everything she needed was inside of it: Keys, phone, money and even her red lipstick just in case she needed to apply another layer during the night, was all tucked inside the small bag.

Piper once again checked if she looked suitable in her mirror and once she was satisfied she made her way to her front door and opened it quickly, locking it behind her once she was stood in her brightly lit apartment corridor.

* * *

><p>The door to the bar opened and a cacophony of sounds hit Piper like a tidal wave. Many different voices and laughter all merged into one loud sound that was battling against the music being played in the background as if to see which could be the loudest.<p>

Piper slowly walked through the entrance and into the large room. On one side there were half a dozen booths filled with people lining the wall and a couple of tables were scattered across the large wooden floor, each with a menu and a small candle placed in the middle of it. The opposite side of the room was mostly taken up by the modern looking bar that went from one end of the room right down to the other and had numerous different types of alcohol on display and hundreds of glasses were stacked up in shelves mounting the wall.

Piper quickly scanned the room to see if she could spot Alex but she was nowhere to be found, she was a little early so Piper wasn't surprised the brunette hadn't turned up yet. Piper strolled over to an empty bar stool and sat down on its plush leather seat and she leaned forward and rested her elbows on the dark, shiny hardwood surface of the bar top and waited patiently for the bartender to finish making a cocktail for a woman further down from her.

"Can I help you?" The bartender dressed in a full black uniform asked in a friendly tone a couple minutes later once he had spotted the blonde.

"Yeah, can I have a margarita please?" It wasn't exactly the perfect weather for a margarita but it's one of the blondes much preferred drinks so she may as well treat herself. The bartender nodded and turned his back so he could start creating her desired drink.

"It's a little cold out for a margarita, don't you think?" Pipers head whipped to the side when she heard those familiar raspy tones. Alex was stood next to her clad in a black dress with lace sleeves which made her figure look fucking _amazing _and on her feet she wore matching black high heels which easily made her one of the tallest people in the room. Her lips had a coat of intense red lipstick and her trademark smirk decorated her porcelain face. Next to her stood pretty much her exact opposite. The much more subtly dressed woman who must be Nicky was tiny compared to the alluring brunette stood next to her, her wild hair sat loose around her shoulders and she ran her fingers through it so she dragged more hair to one side of her face.

"Alex," Piper spoke as she smiled warmly. Alex looked beautiful and the brunette thought the exact same about Piper.

"Piper, this is Nicky." Alex gestured to the girl by the side of her that was now sat down in the bar stool that had been freed up next to Piper, she turned and looked at the blonde and quickly scanned her from head to toe.

"What's up, blondie."

Blondie? Piper frowned at the immediate nickname given to her by Nicky and Alex spotted her disapproval, she bent down slightly so she was more on Pipers level, offering her an absolutely amazing view of her chest in her low cut dress as she leaned in closer to her, Piper froze when she felt her warm breath on her ear.

"Don't mind her, she's a bit of an asshole when you first meet her." Alex's low, husky tones in her ear sent a shiver down Pipers spine and it wouldn't surprise her if she had left a puddle in the middle of her seat. Alex pulled away and once again stood to her full and slightly intimidating height and Piper watched her every move as she called the bartender over who was finishing up making the blondes drink. "I'll have what she's having."

"I'll have a beer," Nicky chipped in her request too. Usually she had a couple of beers first before she starting drinking shots and things of that sort which were the main culprits that caused her killer hangover the following morning.

"I thought it was _too cold out_?" Piper mimicked Alex's words and the taller girl laughed, causing Piper to release a chuckle of her own.

"It's a good drink, who cares if it's cold."

* * *

><p>"And so the penguin says, Dude, he's not an eggplant, he's retarded!" The three women sat at the table roared with incredibly loud laughter and Nicky slammed her fist down on to the surface causing several empty glasses to shake as tears formed in her eyes at her own joke.<p>

"Oh my God," Piper breathed, wiping tears from her eyes as she tried to calm herself down. Alex was sat in the seat next to her still shaking with laughter, even though she had heard the joke hundreds of times before she still found it ridiculously funny, even more so when she wasn't fully sober.

"Fuck that tickles me." Nicky shook her head and chuckled as she picked up her shot glass that wasn't as full as it was before she pounded the table with her hand and knocked it back down in one, squinting her eyes at the burning sensation that travelled down her throat. "I'm going getting another round." Nicky stood from her seat dramatically and caused it to screech as its legs dragged across the floor and she steadied herself before advancing towards to bar.

"That was the funniest thing I've ever heard," Piper slurred and Alex looked at her with an amused expression.

"Yeah you seemed like you enjoyed it." The way Piper vivaciously knocked back her head in laughter and flashed pretty much every single one of her teeth due to her smile being that wide you would have thought she had just heard the funniest thing ever said and not some crappy joke about an eggplant. Alex was laughing more at Pipers over the top but insanely adorable reaction instead of the joke itself. By the looks of things and the sound of her slurred voice, Piper was pretty drunk.

"So did you." Piper fired back.

"Hey I was laughing more at you!"

Piper weakly shoved Alex's arm in an attempt to look annoyed at the brunette laughing at her drunken behaviour but that only fueled Alex's mockery more. Piper frowned and pouted her lips that were recently topped up with the red lipstick from her clutch bag that rested on the table next to the empty glasses. The blonde's conduct suddenly changed from being full of life to somewhat feeble as she folded her arms on the table and rested her head face down in them as she moaned from discomfort, "I don't feel too good."

"It looks like somebody can't handle their tequila," Alex teased.

Piper weakly raised her head and turned to face Alex who was watching her trying her best not to burst out laughing, "Hey, I'm not-"Piper closed her eyes as a wave of nausea washed over her "-I'm not a lightweight."

"Oh I bet you aren't," Alex's tone was laced with sarcasm and Piper ignored her as she slouched in her seat and rubbed her stomach in an attempt to ease her discomfort.

"I think I might go home." As Piper finished her sentence, Nicky came prancing over to their table with 3 full shot glasses in her hands. She placed them down on the surface next to the blondes head, being careful not to spill anything and slumped herself down into her seat.

"What's up with you, Chapman?"

"I feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm going to go home, It was really nice meeting you." Piper said, not at all sounding her best and the shorter girl looked truly disappointed at her sudden decision to leave.

"How about one more for the road?" Nicky suggested as she pushed the glass over to Piper who already has had far too much to drink and didn't need any more alcohol in her system. Alex intercepted her and picked up the glass before the blonde could grab hold of it and placed it on the empty table behind her so it was out of reach.

"No more shots for you."

"Vause don't be such a boring fucker!" Nicky scoffed before knocking back her own dose of tequila and repeating her earlier actions of squinting at the harsh burn the liquid created at the back of her throat.

"I'm going to make sure she gets home alright, I'll call you tomorrow." Alex raised herself from her seat and encouraged Piper to do the same. Once the blonde was standing Alex wrapped her arm around her waist to help keep her steady and the contact caused a grin to tug at Pipers red stained lips.

"I'll let you two be boring old ladies then."

The raven haired girl shook her head and chuckled at Nicky's lack of pity towards Piper and she slowly strolled towards the door with her arm still wrapped firmly around the unsteady blonde's waist so she was sure she wouldn't have any accidents.

Once they both got outside the cold air hit them like a ton of bricks and they shivered simultaneously, luckily though for them there was a taxi parked up right outside the door with no passengers inside. Alex opened the car door and eased Piper in to the back seat and the blonde instantly leaned forward and dumped her head on her knees, still feeling as if she was going to vomit. Alex hastily made her way around to the opposite side of the taxi and slid into the seat next to Piper and fastened both of their seatbelts. The raven haired girl took one look at Piper and truly felt sorry for her; it wasn't a pleasant experience being in such a state because one minute you feel as if you're on top of the world and the next it feels like your insides are going to fall out. There was no way Alex was just going to leave the intoxicated blonde alone in the condition she is, Piper had absolutely no idea what was going on and she regretted powering through the shots Nicky had purchased that was much stronger than she first thought.

Now that Alex was in a more confined space it seemed as if everything was spinning, clearly she too was quite drunk but she was thankful she wasn't as bad as the evidently blind drunk woman doubled over in the seat next to her. The raven haired girl uttered an address to the driver and the car lurched forward, causing Piper to groan.

* * *

><p>The taxi pulled up in front of a tall block of apartments and Alex gently shook Pipers shoulder signalling that it was time to get out of the car. Piper released her seatbelt but still sat frozen in her seat too afraid to move in case she threw up everywhere. Alex paid the driver and jumped out of the car and made her way around to Piper's side and opened the door, wrapping her arm around her waist once again and helping her step onto the sidewalk.<p>

"This isn't my apartment building," Piper said as she looked up at the tall unfamiliar structure facing her.

"It's not, it's my building." The taxi pulled away from the two women leaving them alone on the deserted street. The taller girl gently led Piper through the entrance to the building and veered left towards the door to her apartment, Alex was grateful she lived on the ground floor because there was no way Piper would have been walking up any stairs.

"Why am I in your building and not mine?"

"Because you aren't in a state to be on your own so you can stop at my place for the night, so I know you're ok." Alex freed her arm from around Pipers waist so she could search for her keys in her small bag and the blonde slumped her body against the wall by the doorway.

"I'm perfectly fine," Piper's words all rolled into one and Alex shot her a look as if to say '_No, you aren't' _as she unlocked the door and led the way into the dark room. Piper followed and was blinded by the sudden light when the brunette flicked the light switch and begun walking towards her living room. Piper trailed behind, being careful not to trip over herself and sat down as soon as she saw the couch. Alex disappeared somewhere into a separate room just off the living room and the sound of cupboards slamming and water running came from the open doorway.

Piper sat quietly inspecting the room around her; Alex's apartment was exactly what the blonde expected it to look like. The couch that she was perched on was pushed up against the wall and a large still life picture hung above it, on the opposite wall next to the doorway to the kitchen was a small TV surrounded by shelves full to the brim with books. Piper stood from her seat and cautiously stepped around the small coffee table that only came up to about half way up her shin and made her way towards the shelves, her eyes scanned over each and every title of the many novels that were in front of her and the majority of them Piper had never heard of.

Alex picked up the two full glasses of water from her kitchen worktop, one for herself and one for Piper, and made her way back into the living room. The raven haired girl entered the dimly lit room and she spotted Piper firmly holding her tattered copy of _Emma _by Jane Austen. Alex placed the two glasses of water on the table and went and stood next to Piper who was swaying gently on the spot and focusing extremely hard on the blurb of the book.

"This used to be my favourite book, you know?" Piper looked up from the piece of classical literature in her hands and gazed into the dilated pupils of the taller girls emerald eyes.

"I thought you said you weren't much of a reader?" Alex raised an eyebrow as she thought back to when the blonde first wandered into her store almost a week ago.

"I'm not, well not anymore anyway. I used to read a lot in college but I lost interest after a while." The blonde placed the book back on the shelf where she got it from and wandered over to the couch and took a sip of the water Alex had brought for her as she dropped herself back on to the sofa. Alex followed, kicking off her high heels once she had sat down and also talking a large gulp from her water. The pair of them had sobered up a little since being in the taxi and Piper felt much better now she no longer felt as nauseous which was a huge relief.

Piper placed the glass down on the table and laughed lightly, Alex looked at her wandering what was so funny. "I even tried to read Fifty Shades of Grey but I threw it out after about a week."

Alex's hand flew to her chest and she gasped in mock-horror, "I can't believe you would throw out such an _amazing _book!" Piper let out a loud, throaty laugh before it gradually morphed into a long yawn as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Have those shots worn you out?" The raven haired girl asked sarcastically with a wide smirk.

Piper sighed and nodded slowly, "I'm exhausted"

"Hang on, I'll get you some pyjamas." Alex rose out from her seat and padded down the corridor towards her bedroom and flicked on the bright light. Her room was slightly messy because before she left earlier that night the brunette just left the clothes that she had worn all that day around her apartment scattered on the floor and on the bed. Alex bent down and picked up her discarded t-shirt and folded it up along with all her other clothes and placed them in her tall dresser. Alex quickly slipped out of her dress and threw on an old baggy shirt that she often slept in and some small pyjama shorts and begun rummaging around in her drawers for some spare pyjamas for Piper. Once an appropriate pair for Piper was found, the raven haired girl picked up a blanket that she would sleep with on the couch. It wasn't really fair to make Piper sleep on her couch because even though it was comfortable to sit on, it wasn't at all comfy to sleep on. Alex didn't mind sleeping on the couch though; Piper really needed a warm bed to curl up in after having such a terrible end to the night.

However, Piper had already claimed the couch.

Alex walked back into the living room and saw a fast asleep Piper slouched on the couch with her head resting on the arm of the sofa with her legs curled up beside her. Alex shook her head and chuckled to herself at the sight of the passed out girl opposite her and dumped down the blanket and spare pyjamas on the table. Piper must have really meant it when she said she was exhausted because she had only been left alone for five minutes and she was already asleep. Alex fluffed up the cushions at the other end of the couch to where Piper was currently lied and she gently took the blonde by her sides and eased her down so she was lied on her side, still sound asleep. Alex unfolded the blanket and draped it over the blonde's body and carefully tucked it down the sides of the couch so it wouldn't fall off during the night.

The raven haired girl refilled the almost empty glass of water and placed it back on the table with two headache relief tablets next to it for when Piper woke up in the morning, she sure will need them.

Alex took one last look at the unconscious Piper curled up peacefully on her couch and grinned. _What a lightweight_, she thought.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: First of all, apologies for taking longer than usual for this chapter. I've had zero inspiration for this and I've had a killer writers block so this chapter will probably be one of the weakest, but hey i'll leave you to decide for that one. Secondly, I know things have been moving quite slowly so far but I promise in the next chapter everything will properly start to get going! Hope you enjoy this chapter and thank you for all your reviews so far. They mean the world.

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Christmas!

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><p>Piper woke from her deep and peaceful slumber to a much more unpleasant reality. Her tired eyelids fluttered open and the room around her was blurry, she moved her fingers to her eyes to rub them and the sudden movement caused a pounding pain to spread throughout her head. She groaned quietly out of pain yet continued rubbing her eyes so her sight could be made clear and she froze once things came into focus.<p>

This wasn't her apartment. This wasn't Polly's apartment. Where the hell was she?

"What the…" Piper mumbled to herself, her voice laced with fatigue. She scanned the unfamiliar room attempting to identify where she was but with no avail. The perplexed blonde cautiously sat up on the couch that she didn't at all remember falling asleep on and her gaze focused on the full glass of water and what looked like two aspirins resting on the adjacent coffee table with a pair of folded pyjamas discarded next to them, Piper had clearly fallen asleep before getting the chance to change out of her dress and into the spare clothes that didn't belong to her. Someone had obviously taken care of her the previous night because considering how much of her time at the bar she actually remembers, Piper mustn't have been in the best shape.

She was hoping to God that she didn't end up going home with some sleazy guy from the bar. She has done some stupid things in her lifetime but having a one night stand was most certainly not one of them and she wished it was to stay that way. Her tired eyes shot up towards the door directly opposite her as a series of noises came from the closed off room which sounded like cupboard doors slamming. Someone was home.

_Fuck I had a one night stand,_ Piper thought as she begun to panic, she quickly searched the room for her heels and after a few frantic moments she spotted the red shoes at the other side of the room. As Piper started to peel away to blanket that covered her lithe figure to stand, the door opened.

"Oh. Morning, I didn't expect you see you up," Alex spoke as she strolled into the room with two plates grasped firmly in her hands filled with bacon, eggs and numerous other glorious foods and Piper had never been more overjoyed to see a person than she was now. The unfamiliar apartment must belong to Alex, the amount of books lining the shelves on the opposite wall now made sense and Piper was surprised she didn't put two and two together and figured things out much sooner. The blonde's eyes raked over Alex's frame, she was wearing an old t-shirt that fit smugly against her figure and pyjama shorts that really had no purpose what so ever as Piper was positive she hasn't seen a shorter pair of shorts in her life. Tousled tresses of raven hair cascaded over her shoulders and it was surprisingly neat considering Alex hadn't touched it since waking up. Even with a make-up free face and just basic clothing items adorning her body, Alex practically screamed sex appeal. Piper's eyes scanned over the brunettes long and slender legs as she advanced towards her and slumped herself down into the seat beside her, handing her the plate full of food. "I was going to wake you up so I guess that's one thing crossed off my list." Alex lifted her legs onto the couch and crossed them underneath her as she took a small piece of everything on her fork and placed the collection of foods in her mouth, Piper watched her every move before doing the same.

The blonde moaned with delight as she chewed on possibly the best tasting food she has ever eaten and Alex bit down harshly on the inside of her cheek, her grip tightening on her fork. "This is amazing, it's definitely what I need right now."

Alex jaw relaxed and she released her cheek from in-between her teeth before she drew blood and smirked, "I'm glad you like it. Nothing cures a hangover like a good breakfast."

Piper nodded, it was safe to say she has had better mornings and the delectable meal Alex had kindly prepared was exactly what she needed. "I'm never drinking again, it feels like someone is punching me in the head," She gestured towards the two aspirins on the table with her empty fork, "I didn't want to take those in case you were trying to drug me."

Alex exhaled sharply and her shoulders dropped, "Shit you've caught me out."

Piper laughed and scooped up some more food onto her fork and shoved the contents into her mouth. She swallowed before speaking again, "Be honest, how bad was I?"

The brunette paused for a moment as she tried to remember the previous night's events, "You weren't that bad actually." Piper looked at the girl sat beside her with her eyebrows raised from disbelief.

"I don't believe you."

Alex chuckled causing underneath her eyes to crease behind her black framed glasses, "No really I've seen worse. You just had one too many and you was going home because you didn't feel so good but I didn't want to leave you, so I brought you back here. I went to go and get some pyjamas for you and when I came back you had passed out." An all too familiar heat rushed to Pipers cheeks as she pictured how ridiculous she must have looked, Alex thought it was quite funny to be fair, it was an extremely rare occasion that she was the one taking care of someone and not the other way around so it was somewhat entertaining to see someone else stumbling all over the place.

Piper was grateful though that Alex didn't just leave her in the state she was, Polly probably would have just gone home and left the blonde if it was her she went out with instead. Piper being left to find her way home while stupidly drunk would have ended disastrously; she probably would have woken up at the other side of New York instead of her own bed so she was incredibly thankful that Alex didn't want to abandon her. "Thank you for taking care of me, really."

Alex looked at Piper and flashed a coy grin, "You owe me one."

"I sort of saw that coming."

The pair of them sat side by side and continued eating the delicious meal that Alex had taken the time to prepare for the both of them. Piper finished first, she took her final bite of perfectly cooked bacon and placed her knife and fork on the empty plate which rested on her lap. Alex finished her breakfast shortly after and watched the blonde move into a more comfortable position, wincing as the pain in her head grew worse. Alex noticed her sudden discomfort and picked up the glass of water and the pills that had been left on the coffee table overnight and handed them to her.

"Here, you should take these." Alex tipped the pills into Pipers hand and she placed them into her mouth and took a large gulp of the room temperature water to wash them down in one; Piper was hoping they would kick in soon because her headache was agonizing. She placed the glass down on the surface opposite her and slouched back in her seat, pulling up the warm blanket so it came up to the top of her chest.

"Are you working today?" She inquired.

Alex shook her head, "Not today, I'm giving myself the day off."

Piper glanced at the clock the hung on the wall next to the TV and it was just past 1 in the afternoon, so the breakfast they both ate rather quickly was really their lunch. "I won't stay for too long, I'll let you enjoy your day off." It was blatantly obvious in her tone that Piper didn't want to part ways just yet, she was relishing being in the company of the girl she had grown so attached to these past few days but she didn't want to be a burden to Alex. She made the brunette take care of her last night when she should have been enjoying herself with Nicky so the last thing she wanted to do was outstay her welcome especially when Alex was supposed to be staying at home relaxing. If Piper had a day off from work she wouldn't particularly want Polly staying at her place all day, so why should she do that to Alex?

The brunette furrowed her brows, "You don't have to leave so early. Stay until you feel better."

Piper shrugged and looked down at her lap, "I don't want to piss you off by stay-"Before Piper could finish her sentence Alex held her hand up in protest.

"Pipes, you'll piss me off more if you walk out of here feeling like shit rather than leaving feeling one hundred percent better. Stay, we can watch a movie or something."

A grin tugged at the corner of Pipers lips at the sound of the new nickname Alex had given her and she felt reassured knowing she wasn't being a pain by staying just that little bit longer. The thought of watching a movie with Alex Vause sounded like complete and utter bliss and along with the breakfast/lunch she just finished, a good movie would do her good. Piper pictured the scene in her mind, her and Alex tucked up underneath the blanket that was sprawled over the couch while they watched whatever movie they decided to pick, offering a running commentary of the plot with a huge bowl of popcorn being shared between them. Alex watched the blonde as she stared off into the distance in her own world with a small smile creeping onto her face. A loud car horn sounded from the open window in the living room and Piper snapped out of her dream like state and returned her gaze back to the brunette who was watching her closely.

"What?"

Alex smirked, "Nothing." She scooped up the scraped clean plate from Pipers lap and piled it on top of her own, not so accidentally brushing her hand against the blonde's bare leg as she picked up the plate. "I'll clean these up and we can pick a movie, you can change into these if you want to." Alex gestured towards the pile of clothes she left on the coffee table that Piper was supposed to get changed in to before passing out.

"How do you know I'm staying?" Piper said as she glanced up at Alex who was beginning to make her way towards the kitchen, she turned around so she was once again facing the blonde and she slowly started walking backwards towards the open doorway.

"How can you turn down a movie day?"

* * *

><p>The two women had spent the entirety of the day huddled up and Alex's couch tucked underneath the warm blanket watching whatever movies the brunette had found in a dusty cardboard box underneath her bed. Piper had brushed her teeth with a toothbrush that Alex had given her fresh out of the packet so she felt a little more clean and she had changed into the pyjamas set out or her while the raven haired girl washed the dishes and was now much more comfortable, the clothes were a little too big but Piper didn't mind as long as she was out of her dress. The two of them sat comfortably on the couch with the large blanket covering both of their bodies. Alex had her long legs spread out with one crossed over the other resting on the coffee table opposite her and Piper was sat reasonably close to her with her legs curled up against her chest. The curtains were drawn so all of the midday beams of sunlight were blocked from entering the room the pair occupied and a large almost empty bowl of freshly made popcorn rested on Alex's lap.<p>

They had only watched one movie and was now halfway through their second which to Pipers disapproval was a horror film. She protested when Alex brought out the DVD, refusing to watch it because it looked 'too scary' but after a lot of persuasion and the reassurance that it isn't actually real, the blonde finally agreed. The movie was only an hour or so in and Piper had spent most of it with her eyes covered by the material of the blanket and every now and then she subconsciously kept edging closer and closer to the comforting brunette whenever a frightening scene came on the screen causing a smug smirk to tug at Alex's lips each time she felt Piper press her body even further in to her side (which she was completely unaware she was doing) up until the point where if she got any closer she would be straddling her lap.

Which didn't seem too bad, actually.

Currently, the main character was wandering around a dark house alone after they heard a strange noise (typical horror movie scenario) and Piper had a feeling something was going to pop out, her eyes were almost covered completely leaving only a tiny fragment of the TV visible whereas Alex was eagerly awaiting what was going to happen and thinking that the woman cowering behind a blanket with her warm body pressed gently against her side was rather funny. One of Pipers hands released itself from the safety of her blanket and moved towards the bowl that rested on Alex's lap and she attempted to get a decent sized handful of popcorn from the very little amount left. Still giving her undivided attention to the movie playing before her, Alex reached in to the bowl too and her cold, dexterous fingers met Pipers that was also attempting to relieve her popcorn cravings. It was like a bolt of electricity shot throughout Pipers body at the sudden contact and before she could react, she felt one of Alex's fingers brush against her own teasingly, creating a trail of goosebumps wherever her fingers touched before she quickly removed her popcorn filled hand and brought it towards her mouth. It was a scene that you would see in a cringing teenage romance movie and Alex had to stop herself from laughing at just how cheesy it was.

Alex loved getting a reaction out of Piper because of just how obvious it was that she liked it. The brunette noticed whenever she made a flirty comment or gesture Piper would turn in to a nervous little girl and whenever she touched her, her body froze and her innocent blue eyes widened. Piper quickly withdrew her hand and returned it back under the blanket that hid her face and the small smile that adorned it.

The smile was quickly removed from her features and instead turned into an open mouthed gasp as she jumped in her seat at the sight on the TV screen that absolutely terrified her and Alex let out a bellowing laugh at just how easy the blonde was to scare.

Alex swallowed the last remaining piece of popcorn and turned her head towards the now pale looking girl beside her, "Oh come on! That was not scary."

Piper scoffed and looked at Alex who was staring back at her with a large grin, "Yes it was! I can't believe you don't find this scary."

"Because it's not. Trust me, I've seen much scarier."

The blonde grabbed the blanket by the corner and removed it from her body and stood from her seat, "I can't watch this, I'm going to the bathroom."

Alex watched her from behind, admiring her figure in the clothes she picked out for her as she walked towards the hallway, "Check for any murderers while you're up."

Piper turned around and raised her middle finger directing it at the smug brunette slouched on the sofa, "You're an asshole."

* * *

><p>"Have you seen my bag?" Piper asked as she scanned the living room in hope of coming across her clutch bag that she hasn't seen since last night.<p>

Alex shook her head as she wandered into the middle of the room so she was stood next to the blonde, "I don't think so, what does it look like?"

"Its plain black and it's quite small. I'm sure I didn't leave it at the bar."

"Yeah I think I remember you holding something when I was unlocking the door, I'll help you look."

It was late afternoon and Piper was getting all of her things together so she was ready to go home, she had fully recovered from her dreadful hangover and a taxi had been called from Alex's phone and was expected any minute. The blonde was ready to go but her purse that she doesn't have the faintest memory of putting down had gone missing.

Once the movie Piper couldn't bare herself to watch had finished, Alex opened the curtains so the pale blue sky with streaks of orange and pale pink spreading through it could be seen as the sun was beginning to set behind the clouds, creating an amber tint in Alex's living room. Piper had folded up her dress and placed it on the arm of the couch, her body still clad in the clothes she had borrowed and what Alex said was fine going home in, she grasped her shoes firmly by the heels in one hand as the searched the room over and over again with a frown growing on her face as she tried to jog her memory regarding the whereabouts of her bag.

"Have you got your phone on you?" Piper asked and Alex nodded her head, causing her raven tresses to shake gently. "Can you call my phone? It's in my bag, I might be able to find it if I hear my phone ringing."

"Sure, give me a second." Alex picked up her phone and within a few seconds she had dialed her number, "It's ringing."

Piper froze as she waited for the ring of her phone, too afraid to move in case if she made a noise it would drown out the sound of the ringing. After a couple of extremely silent seconds, a muffled ringing came from the direction of the couch. Piper quickly made her way over to the source of the ringing and lifted up the large cushions to see if her bag had somehow fallen down the back of them while she was sleeping but sadly, there was no signs of it. The blonde sighed and stood up straight, still carefully listening to the ringing and trying to determine where the hell her bag was.

"Try under the couch, it might have fallen under."

Piper crouched down and placed her bare knees on the floor, lowering her head so she could check underneath the couch in case her bag had been kicked under it. Alex raised her eyebrows at the sight of Pipers ass in the incredibly short pyjama shorts that the brunette was _very_ glad she had picked out. Parts of Pipers lace underwear could be seen from underneath the material of her shorts as she bent over so she could get a better look of under the couch, and Alex had to stifle a moan at the sight she couldn't help but stare at.

"I've found it!" Piper lowered her body even further and reached underneath the sofa with her left arm and grabbed her bag that had somehow ended up being kicked right underneath the it. The ringing silenced as Alex hung up and placed her phone down on the nearest surface and the blonde practically jumped to her feet, content that she had finally retrieved her bag. She double checked that she had found everything she originally left the house with: Phone, bag, keys, they were all there. "Well, I've got everything I need. I better go wait for the taxi." She pointed towards the hallway that lead towards the front door with the hand that was still holding her shoes. She didn't plan on putting them on; she wasn't going to be walking far so there was no need really.

"You can stay inside for a little longer if you want to."

"No no its fine don't worry. I'll let you have the rest of the day to yourself."

Alex shrugged, "If you insist. I'll see you out." She stepped to the side so there was room for Piper to walk past and the blonde obeyed, slowly walking by the taller girl towards the hallway. As Piper passed by, Alex could smell what was left of her perfume from the night before lingering from the dress that was clutched firmly in her arms and a tantalizing scent of vanilla surrounded the blonde as her body brushed passed the brunette's.

She smelled fucking amazing.

Once Piper reached the door she paused and turned on her heel so she was facing Alex who was close behind, "I just want to say thank you for taking care of me last night, it really means a lot." Her tone was sincere and warming; she looked at the brunette and instantly got lost in her jade irises that glinted with life.

"No worries, I wanted to make sure you were ok."

Piper laughed, "Well I've learned my lesson, the hard way." She shook her head in embarrassment as she tried her best not to think of just how stupid she must have looked. She offered one last smile to Alex and started to turn her body so she could open the door to the corridor of the apartment building, but before she could move any further Alex reached out and gently placed her hand on her arm causing her to freeze on the spot and her heart to pound loudly at the fiery touch on her cool skin.

"Hey, I need to ask you something." Piper looked down at the hand that was resting on her forearm, caressing gently against her skin.

"What?"

Alex removed her hand from Pipers arm and the blonde's shoulders drooped slightly at the lack of contact. "Come out for drinks tomorrow, I know this really good place in town that we could go to."

Piper hesitated before speaking, "I don't know. As much as I liked Nicky I don't think I can manage spending another night out drinking with her.

Alex smirked and shook her head, "No Nicky won't be coming this time. Just me and you."

A pause. "Just the two of us?"

Alex nodded and Piper could once again feel heat rising in her cheeks. If she got a dollar for every time she blushed in Alex's company she would be fucking loaded.

"Sure. I'll come for drinks." Piper spoke as she stared longingly into the raven haired girls hypnotizing eyes.

"Great." Alex spoke quietly in a low and raspy voice that made Piper feel virtually weightless because of just how fucking _sexy _it was. She watched the shorter girls baby blue eyes wander aimlessly across her face until they focused on her red lips, a loud car horn from what must be a slightly impatient taxi driver sounded from outside causing her flinch but still she stood perfectly still with her eyes scanning every tiny detail of Alex's tempting lips.

Pipers breath hitched in her throat as the brunette took a step closer so that the space between them was now a matter of centimeters, almost black irises behind think frames bore into blue ones and Alex's expression became serious, all essence of anything teasing or sincere had vanished. The titillating smell of vanilla was much stronger now Alex was within a closer proximity and the sexual tension between the two women became palpable. The brunette could hear the shallow breaths and the quiet sound of Pipers pounding heart the closer she came to her, emerald eyes still focusing on the blondes expression that was only growing more alarmed. The blonde's lips parted as she gazed up wondrously at easily the most attractive woman she had ever seen, her heart beating a mile a minute as her mind went blank and desolate of thoughts. Piper couldn't fabricate anything to say at this moment in time and it was like she was frozen on the spot as Alex came within touching distance of her lips. The brunette's eyes were filled with lust and the sight only made Pipers muscles more taut as her eyes widened, yearning for more. Alex slowly raised her left arm from her side and brought it up to Pipers forearm where her fiery touch had been not too long ago, her fingers brushed across the sun kissed skin causing a shiver to shoot up the blonde's spine, her eyes still not moving from the flustered features of the woman opposite her.

Piper would like to believe that she had a lot of patience and that she was reasonable enough in most situations, but this was pushing it. How anyone keep up a calm demeanour while they had by far the sexiest person to walk the earth trailing their fingers up and down their arm while they practically eye-fucked you was really beyond her. Piper just wanted Alex to either get to the point or quit teasing her before she cracked because this was getting to be too much. First it was the not so discrete stroke of the hand in the midst of the popcorn bowl followed by several flirtatious comments while watching the movie and now it was this? Piper couldn't take it any longer.

Alex removed her hand from the blondes arm and reached behind her as she watched Pipers expression morph into one of confusion, she bit the inside of her cheek attempting to keep a straight face while she grasped the door handle behind the clearly tormented woman and swiftly turned it and pulled open the door. She dropped her arm back down to her side and moved her head so her lips were next to Pipers ear, "Better not keep your taxi waiting. Be here for five tomorrow."

Piper closed her eyes as Alex's warm breath hit her skin and her raspy tones laced with lust and desire sounded in her ear. She reopened her dazed eyes when she heard the taller girl take a step back and lean her body against the wall behind her which was far too far away for Pipers liking. A perfectly arched eyebrow rose as she looked at the blonde who was much too confused and turned on to fathom what had just happened.

"Everything okay kid?" Looking at Alex's nonchalant manner you would think that she had just walked Piper to the door to say goodbye and that was it, end of story. She was such a fucking a tease.

"Everything's fine." She offered a tight lipped smile to the brunette as she stepped backwards in to the doorway with one foot inside the apartment and one foot out. "See you tomorrow, then."

Before Alex could get a word in edgeways, the door had shut and Piper was gone.

The blonde stood with her back pressed against the closed door as she took in a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. What the hell had just happened?

It was clear now that Pipers feelings towards the brunette were anything but those of friendship, nor were her feelings platonic. Piper _wanted_ Alex. She wanted to feel her touch on her skin, she wanted to hear her raspy tones whisper sweet nothings in her ear and she simply wanted to spend every living moment with Alex because Piper was undeniably falling for her and she had she had never been more sure about something in her entire life.  
>The feeling was mutual for Alex too. There was something different about the naïve blonde that somehow manages to make her way into her thoughts every day without fail. Alex had never been one who wanted commitment, she was more of a person that went with the tide and didn't really bother with having a special someone by her side, sure she's had plenty girlfriends before but they were more for show than for anything else. They were her toys, she didn't love them. She didn't love any of them. She thought she loved one or two of her first girlfriends but even then, after so long having even the slightest bit of affection towards them felt forced.<p>

But Piper, well Piper was too good for that. Piper wasn't a toy; instead she was the most prized crown jewel that Alex wanted, _needed_ to get her hands on. Every time she was in the blondes company or whenever she heard her soothing voice over the phone, Alex felt something that she had never felt before about anyone. The little amount of time they had known each other only encouraged Alex to pursue and uncover more about Piper and their night out together with Nicky, Alex bringing the intoxicated woman home and the pair of them spending the day huddled up together on the couch watching movies made everything perfectly clear.

Alex wanted Piper, and she would do anything and everything in her power to get her.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you for all your lovely reviews! I read through every one of them and it means the world to know that you all love the story. A lot goes on in this chapter so it's quite longer than all of the others. Hope you enjoy this one! Sorry for any typos & Happy New Year!

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><p>As soon as the doors to her wardrobe swing open, Piper can feel her calm and confident conduct wash away and instead turn in to uncontrollable nerves with a hint of fear accompanying it. Her eyes scan over each and every item of clothing in her closet but absolutely nothing jumps out at her. Sure, she has plenty fancy dresses but she didn't want <em>just <em>fancy. No, she wanted sexy. She wanted to look desirable. Piper wanted to make Alex completely lost for words as soon as she laid her eyes her and to be putty in her hands simply because of how incredible she looked. Sadly though, Piper didn't actually own anything that fit such a description, so instead she settled for a coral coloured dress that came up to her mid-thigh and shows off her long and shapely legs, also leaving her arms bare and her perfectly formed collar bones on show. She changed out of her comfortable loungewear and eased herself in to her dress, awkwardly bending her arm over her head so she could pull up the golden zip that rested in-between her shoulder blades and comes all the way down to the small of her back. She perched herself on the edge of her bed and slipped on a pair of tall black stilettos and once they was comfortably on her feet, she stood and made her way over to her dresser where a gold necklace and matching bracelet lay on top of it.

Piper had a plan. She was going to beat Alex at her own game, she was going to play hard to get. She wasn't going to act like a pathetic little school girl like she has done the past couple of times she's encountered the brunette. This time she was going to be the exact opposite, she wasn't going to be too hard to get because if she puts up this barrier that seems almost impossible to get across Alex will get bored and give up, which would be the worst thing that could happen. Piper didn't want to come across as easy or inexperienced or worst of all, desperate. Desperation is a huge turn off in Pipers book so she was hoping to be anything but that. She wanted to be a little bit of a tease and get revenge for what the raven haired girl did to her while she was stood in her doorway ready to go home the previous day. It was stupid of Alex to think that she could tease Piper by trailing her fingers up and down her arm and come within millimeters of kissing her without actually doing so and get away with it, she was obviously going to get a taste of her own medicine at some point.

Piper picked up her clutch bag as she made her way to the front door but before she could get there, her phone started ringing and she sighed when she looked at the caller ID.

"Pol I can't talk right now, I'm busy." She strode towards the exit of her apartment and swung the door open, stepping out into the rather chilly corridor of her building and she carefully pressed her phone between her cheek and shoulder so she could lock her door with both hands.

"This won't take long I promise, I just need a couple of minutes." Polly pleaded from the other end of the line.

Piper took hold of her phone once she had locked the door and quickly made her way down one flight of stairs and outside all while Polly was still speaking. "Alright, be quick though."

The brunette paused as she listened to the faint sound of cars from Pipers end. "Are you outside?"

Piper raised one of her toned arms to hail a cab that was passing by and she rolled her eyes at her prying friend. "Yes I'm outside. I'm going out for drinks with someone if you really must know."

"Oh my god, who?"

Piper laughed at Polly's suddenly upbeat tone and she quietly muttered Alex's address to the awaiting taxi driver as she clambered into the back seat, her heart pounding with nerves. "Is it really that surprising that I'm going on a date? Anyway Pol, get to the point."

A date. Piper scolded herself once she realised she had called her and Alex going out for drinks a 'date'. It wasn't a date, was it? Neither of them had actually specified what their outing was so maybe it was a date, who knows. As much as she didn't want to, Piper wished that tonight wasn't going to be just a friendly night out and she secretly wished for it be something more. The way that Alex came on to her while they had their movie day made the blonde believe that tonight actually meant something.

"Oh right sorry, I want you to come to my place some point during the week and help me out with seating arrangements for the wedding. You know, you are my Maid of Honour after all."

"Sure I'll sto-"Piper froze and she could practically see Polly's smug face, "Maid of Honour?"

"Yeah!"

A beaming smile spread across Pipers face that made her cheeks ache and she practically jumped in her seat, she was positive she has never been more overjoyed about anything in her entire life. "Holy shit Pol!" Displeasing eyes of the taxi driver looked at Piper through the rear-view mirror and she immediately toned down her excitement and mouthed _Sorry_ to the grey eyes that watched her carefully. "I can't believe this, thank you!"

"No worries. You're the only person I actually like enough to make my Maid of Honour so it was a no brainer really."

Piper chuckled and crossed her right leg over her left, accidentally kicking the luckily empty seat in front of her. "Wait, weren't you supposed to pick the Maid of Honour months ago?"

"I did but I just didn't tell you. Have you not noticed that you've been doing practically everything one of them has to do?"

Now that Polly mentioned it, Piper realised that she has done everything the job of being someone's Maid of Honour requires. She's been to every dress fitting, helped shop for bridesmaids dresses and as much as she didn't want to, she has been the one that the bride has vented _all _of her problems to. Even though sometimes Polly was a pain in the ass she still was Pipers best friend and the blonde was flattered that she has been picked to play such a vital role. "Pol I really can't thank you enough. I'm so excited for the wedding!"

"Me too! The wait isn't too long now and I'm excited but crapping myself at the same time. Anyway I've gotta go, have fun on your _date_."

"I will. See you later." Piper removed her phone from her ear and hung up, tossing it into her clutch bag and fastening it together so everything inside of it was safe. She looked out of the window to the fast moving terrain and once the car ground to a halt at a red light, the blonde recognised where she was. Alex's apartment was just around the corner. Piper took a deep breath to try and calm her nerves and her foot tapped ridiculously fast on the floor of the taxi. "_Come on Chapman. Don't be such a pussy."_

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><p>Three loud knocks caught Alex's attention from the hallway and she quickly tidied her lipstick so she was sure the blood red colour was neat. Her heels similar in colour to her lips carried her out of her bedroom and her long legs brought her to her door seconds later. The door swung open to reveal Piper standing incredibly straight with a coquettish grin on her face, her azure eyes scanning each and every inch of Alex's elegant frame. The taller girl was dressed in a skin tight black dress with a plunging neckline that gave Piper a view she was most certainly not complaining about. The length of the dress was only a little shorter than the blondes and Alex watched the girl as her eyes slowly scanned over her slender legs. Her porcelain complexion gave off a radiant glow and the only make up that adorned her face was vivid red lipstick and the usual perfectly winged eyeliner that Piper has never seen her without.<p>

"Hey." Alex spoke once she made eye contact again with Piper, her husky tones causing the blonde to tightly grip her clutch bag. Playing it cool might actually be harder than she thought.

"Hey." Piper replied, her tone thankfully level.

"You look nice."

A small smile spread across the shorter girl's face, her posture relaxing slightly. "Thanks. You don't look too bad yourself."

After a brief pause Alex stepped out from the confines of her home and onto the hallway next to Piper, shutting the door behind her. "Are you ready to go?"

"Sure. Where are we even going?" Alex brushed past her and her long strides already created quite a distance between the two, Piper spun around on her heel and briskly caught up to the woman who was now holding open for her the door to the main entrance of the building.

"Oh it's nowhere special, just this nice little place not too far from here." Piper exited the warm apartment building and the cold evening air caused her to shiver, her bare arms tightly folding together in an attempt to keep warm. Alex followed her on to the surprisingly bare street and hurried over to a reasonably old black Mercedes parked up that Alex had spent pretty much her entire life savings on a couple of years ago. Her cold fingers found her keys and she unlocked the doors to the car and stepped to the side as she gracefully opened the passenger door, "After you."

Piper obliged and strolled over to the car and grinned at the brunette before dipping her head so she could take a seat on the comfortable leather passenger seat. Once Piper was in the car, Alex shut the door and made her way to the driver's side and opened the door so she could place herself next to the blonde who was patiently waiting to get going. As Alex sat down beside her and closed the door behind her, a strong smell of vanilla and honey hit her instantly and she bit down on her lip to stop a groan from escaping. Piper shifted in her seat and looked over at Alex who was firmly gripping the wheel despite not starting the car yet and her azure eyes slowly made their way down to the brunettes chest that was on show and she left them there for slightly too long.

Alex shifted abruptly in her seat once she had composed herself and Pipers wandering eyes snapped back up. Her hand that was still holding the keys to the car moved from the steering wheel towards to ignition and a few moment later the immobile vehicle came to life, breaking the silence that enveloped the pair.

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><p>Alex's hand opened the door for Piper and she stepped to the side allowing the other girl to pass by. Piper stepped in to a lobby-like area and was stunned by her surroundings. Beautiful paintings hung from cream painted walls in luxurious gold frames and in the far corner of the room a large vase with meticulous patterns all over its ceramic surface held a huge bunch of white roses that Piper couldn't take her eyes off. Next to it was a large door guarded by a middle aged man dressed in a black suit with slicked back hair standing behind a podium that came up to just below his ribs. Piper stood in the middle of the room absolutely astounded at the fact Alex brought her to quite possibly one of the classiest, most exclusive and not to forget expensive restaurants in the whole of New York.<p>

This is definitely a date.

Alex strolled past Piper and made her way over to the member of staff by the door and waited for him to finish writing down something in a small book that rested on the podium. Once he had noticed the intimidating brunette's presence, he placed down his pen and looked up at her.

"I have a reservation in the name of Vause."

"Vause…" He trailed off and began flicking through the small book he had just finished writing in and stopped suddenly on a particular page, tracing his index finger down the long list of names in search for Alex's. "Ah here we are, table for two?"

Alex nodded in confirmation and the very formally dress man stepped out from behind his podium and made his way to the large wooden doors. Piper wandered over to the brunette's side, still amazed at her surroundings and slowly followed her in to the following room. As the doors opened and the two women were led inside Piper let out a small gasp of astonishment and Alex smirked by the side of her.

The large room was painted cream like the entrance area and an exquisite chandelier hung from the ceiling in the centre of the grandiose room, its crystals reflecting beams of light in several directions and the blonde stared up at it amazed at its beauty. Vases of white roses are scattered across the large floor occupied by tables with pristine white table cloths draped over them and an array of different types of cutlery and plates arranged perfectly on them. The two women followed the suited staff member as he wove in an out of several different tables that had people dressed in clothing items more expensive than Piper and Alex's entire wardrobes combined.

"Here we are." The gentleman gestured to the table with two empty seats tucked underneath it and both women thanked him for escorting them to their seats.

Alex pulled out a chair from underneath the table and looked towards Piper who was still a little dazed, "Care to take a seat?" She joked.

Piper chuckled and made her way over to the seat that Alex was holding out for her and lowered herself down into it as the brunette gently pushed it underneath her before making her way to the opposite side of the table and taking a seat for herself. Piper looked around the room with fascinated eyes, still unable to comprehend the lengths that Alex has gone to.

"Alex…this is, this is _amazing. _What happened to nothing special?_" _Alex grinned as she heard her words that she said back at her apartment recited back to her.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Do you like it?"

"Like it? I've never been somewhere as amazing as here. How much did this cost you?"

Alex wasn't going to admit it but getting a reservation at such a prestigious restaurant certainly wasn't cheap. She knew she needed to go all out to impress Piper because Alex knew if she disappointed tonight it would take a lot of hard work to redeem herself and by the looks of the younger girls stupefied expression, she luckily wouldn't have to do such a thing. Alex didn't exactly have stupid amounts of money lying around to pay for the meal so she had to take money from her savings that she only ever used when bills for the store needed paying, so far a couple thousand dollars had been saved but that meant nothing considering how far behind Alex was on paying her bills. Taking out a couple hundred dollars to pay for meal just meant the brunette would be more behind than usual. That didn't bother Alex really, she had become quite good at persuading the bill collectors to give her extra time to earn the money so she could keep her store, so treating Piper with the money that she was supposed to be saving was no big deal. At this moment in time, impressing Piper was more important than worrying about a store that will inevitably close down no matter how hard Alex tried to stop it.

The raven haired girl shrugged, causing soft curls to shift slightly on her shoulder. "It doesn't matter how much it cost. As long as you like it, I'm happy." A large smile broke out on Pipers face and Alex paused for a brief moment and smirked, "But you better like it because getting a reservation here was a pain in the ass."

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><p>A low groan escaped from Pipers lips as she swallowed the final mouthful of the piquant strawberry cheesecake and the spoon that she finally figured out was the dessert spoon was placed on the scraped clean plate.<p>

The dinner had turned out better than what both of the women had expected it to. Piper's cheeks were aching because of all the smiling she had been doing and both of them would possibly have sore throats from laughing so much. The conversation only ever stopped when what they ordered arrived at the table and the starving pair stared at the plate of food that was prepared to an artist's standard with wide eyes and a rumbling belly. Piper found herself laughing for longer when she should have when Alex was momentarily blind because the heat from her steak that came with an array of different greens and vegetables that the brunette had never tried before or even heard of caused her glasses to steam over.  
>After a number of not so accidental leg touches under the table and one or two flirtatious comments that caused Piper to blush furiously, dessert arrived. Piper ordered the cheesecake that she was now wiping up any leftovers from the blindingly white plate with her finger and Alex ordered a slice of chocolate cake that she was still eating due to it being much larger than she thought it would be. The raven haired girl was amazed at how much food Piper could actually eat, looking at her slender frame you would think she has the appetite of a child but she has definitely been proved wrong because Alex is sure she has never seen someone eat a plate of food so quickly in her entire life. Piper is quicker than Nicky when it comes to eating and that is certainly an achievement.<p>

The blonde scrunched up the napkin that was no longer of any use to her and dropped it down on to her plate, "So yeah like I was saying, we make the soaps in Polly's kitchen and then once they're all finished we package them up and go to little farmers markets and sell them. We're getting into Barneys."

"Barneys huh?" Piper nodded with a proud look on her face. Alex had asked her what she actually did as a job because all that she seemed to do was lie around doing nothing. As soon as the question was brought up Piper sat up straight and her eyes flashed with life at Alex showing interest in what she does. For the past fifteen minutes she had been in her element and had only stopped speaking when there was food in her mouth and the brunette was watching her amazed at how much she had to say about her little soap business. PoPi was its name? Alex can't remember. "I know if I ever urgently need soap I can count on you."

"We make lotions too."

Alex laughed and took another bite of her chocolate cake that was nowhere near finished, "Wow you're the full package."

A smirk formed on the blondes face as she leaned back in the plush seat and her right elbow rested on the padded chair arm and a comfortable silence enveloped the pair. After a couple of seconds passed, Piper opened her mouth to speak once again, "This might be a weird question but I'm going to ask anyway."

Alex took one last bite of her dessert and placed he fork down next to the half-eaten cake that no matter how much she wanted, her stomach couldn't take any more food. "Ask away."

The younger girl paused and looked down at the crease free table cloth as she tried to think of the best way to word her question and Alex looked in to her wandering eyes as she waited for what the girl was about to say.

"What is it about books that fascinate you so much? The store, all the books in your apartment, it might seem weird but I'm just a little curious to know why you love them so much."

Alex watched Piper as she spoke, she watched the way she talked with her hands and she listened to how she really did sound interested about why the hell Alex loves books so much. It was a perfectly reasonable question, Alex had never met someone who had such a passion about literature like she does and the amount of books she owns is borderline ridiculous so it was normal for Piper to be a little curious. "I don't know really. They're just…it's like…" Alex halted her current speech and raised both of her eyebrows a little as her mind went completely blank, it was harder than she thought to formulate a reply to such an easy question.

"I love them because when I read, no matter what book it is, it's like an escape. When I was a kid I hated school, like _really_ hated it. I used to come home day after day to an empty house because my mom was out working like she always was and I used to go and sit in my room for hours in bed reading. It was like when I read I was put in the shoes of the characters and all of the shit that was happening in my life didn't matter anymore because I could be someone else for a little while. It's like that now too, whenever I'm in a bad mood or even when I'm bored of sitting around doing nothing I pick up a book and I zone out for a couple of hours. With the store, it's like my second home. Even though about ten people come in to it a day and maybe double that on a good day, I love being there. Being surrounded by so many books that each have their own individual and unique stories makes me happy. As cheesy as it probably sounds, books make me happy."

Piper stared at Alex completely lost for words. She had no idea something so simple could mean so much to someone and there was no way she could come up with anything intelligent to say so instead she sat there with a dumbfounded expression.

"As much as I love the store though, it's really stressing my out recently because of how badly it's doing."

"What do you mean?" Piper said with a hint of concern in her tone.

Alex sighed and looked down at her hands that lay on the table, palms facing downwards. "Money is a little tight and the bill collectors are being assholes. It's nothing I can't handle though."

Piper sat up straight and placed both of her hands on the table so she was mirroring the brunette's position, her expression suddenly serious. "I can help you."

Alex's eyes widened and her eyebrows rose in surprise. This is exactly the opposite of what she wanted, she didn't want to play the sympathy card so Piper would help her like her knight in shining armour, Alex _hated _looking weak and there was nothing worse to her than looking like she was in trouble and this was exactly how she's accidentally made herself out to be. "You can help me?"

Piper nodded, "I have some money in the bank that I got from my grandmothers will and I haven't touched it once because I haven't needed it for anything, you can use that to pay all the bills and get your store back on its feet."

Alex girl shook her head and furrowed her brows. Piper wants to give _Alex _money from her _grandmothers _will to pay bills for a store she has only ever stepped foot in twice? Alex new the girl was naïve but this was really something else. "No, no I can't take your money. Like I said this is nothing I can't handle."

The blondes hand moved across the table and placed itself on top of Alex's, the pair of rings on her tanned skin was cold against her own but the heat radiating from her palm felt like fire on Alex's skin. Her stern expression and firm grip proved that Piper was anything but joking.

"I can't take your mo-"

"Alex." The brunette raised her eyebrows in shock at Pipers sudden stern demeanour and a small smirk grew on her red lips, she liked the way Piper was taking charge. Alex liked this side of her.

Piper tightened her grip slightly on Alex's hand and the smirk only grew wider on her face, Pipers expression though was still deadly serious. "I want you to take the money. You need it more than I do."

Alex looked at the pleading woman in front of her with disapproving eyes. She didn't want Pipers money but she knew even If she said no the blonde wouldn't give up without a fight and one way or another that money will end up in Alex's bank whether she wanted it there or not, so there was no point wasting her breath protesting, "Fine."

Piper's stern expression morphed in to one of pure joy and a wide smile that showed off almost her entire top row of spectacularly white teeth grew on her face, her hand still firmly attached to Alex's. "Good! Even if you said no, I wouldn't have stopped trying to persuade you."

Alex laughed quietly, "Oh I know." She didn't know how much money she would be receiving off the blonde but any amount would pull her out of the hole she had got herself into. Now that money would be coming in, Alex could pay off the bills and get the pathetic bill collector that insists that Alex calls him 'Mr Crockett' off her back and if there is anything left over she can renovate the store and buy new stock that will attract more customers and generally make the store more modern. Alex didn't want the money but she really did need it. She removed her free hand from the table surface and placed it on top of Pipers and slowly traced her thumb across her knuckles, causing a warm feeling to spread like wildfire throughout the blondes whole body.

"Thank you, Piper."

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><p>The passenger door to the car swung open and Piper strolled past the brunette that was politely holding the door open for her. "You're such a good host," the blonde quipped as she slumped herself down in to the soft leather seat and Alex laughed out loud as she shut the door and made her way around to the other side of the car and within seconds she was sat comfortably in the driver's seat. Piper had some of material from her dress in between her fingers and was playing with it idly. "I had a really good time tonight."<p>

Alex turned her body slightly in her seat so she was looking at Piper who had a content smile on her face as she looked directly in to the brunette's captivating irises. "Same here kid."

"I don't think I've eaten so much in my entire life," Piper laughed and released the material of her dress from between her fingers so her hand could move to her extremely full belly.

The brunette adjusted her glasses so they rested more snugly on her nose and Pipers contagious laughter caused a small chuckle to escape from Alex's lips. After a couple of laughter filled moments the small space inside of the car went silent and Alex looked at the girl sat by her side with a glimmer of longing in her eyes. "You look beautiful tonight, Pipes."

The blonde raised her eyebrows and just stared at Alex. No one really called her beautiful and actually meant it, and by Alex said those words it sounded like she one hundred percent meant what she said. Only Larry had ever called her beautiful before which was expected of him really because he was her boyfriend and almost fiancé. Not even her mom called her beautiful, the only compliment that ever came out of her mouth was '_Oh you look pretty today Piper' _and that was it_._

"You look beautiful too." Piper spoke quietly and Alex wasn't sure if she actually heard her right, but a warm and genuine smile grew on the blondes face and Alex mirrored her expression. A small strand of hair fell over blue eyes as Piper shifted in her seat but she made no efforts to tuck it back behind her ear. Alex's hand rose from her lap and advanced towards the blonde's flawless face but she recoiled from the contact, confused by what was going on but the reassuring gaze of Alex made her taut muscles ease. The raven haired girl's cold fingers brushed across Pipers cheek and slowly tucked the stray strand behind her ear that was decorated by a simple diamond stud. Piper's lips parted at the contact and her eyes roamed over every inch of Alex's face until they finally focused on her inviting lips, the brunette trailed her hand over Pipers jaw leaving a trail of incredible heat despite her icy touch until her hand finally rested on the crook of her neck, her thumb slowly and gently moving back and forth on her skin. All that could be heard was the pounding heartbeats of both of the women and the quiet sound of steady breaths; both of their eyes were devoid of any teasing and instead filled with lust and desire. The sexual tension and the lust for one another that had been building up between them ever since they first met now has got to the point where enough is enough. Piper's plan of playing hard to get was out of the window because all she wanted now was to feel Alex's lips on hers. She _wanted _Alex and she wanted her sooner rather than later.

The trademark smirk that usually adorned Alex's features is long gone and her red lips are parted much like Pipers and her eyes are dominated by the black void of her pupils that only seems to be growing in size, her mind is clouded over and she can't form any coherent thoughts about what the hell is going on apart from that Piper is the most beautiful, sexy and the most perfect human being she has ever come across and trying not to press her lips against hers was impossible and it required willpower that Alex didn't have. Her hand that still rested on the blonde's neck eased the girl forwards and Piper obliged, her body shifted in her seat as her lips came painfully close to Alex's. The brunette lowered her gaze so she was looking at Pipers lips and the smell of her faded vanilla perfume filled her nose, only making her want the blonde more and Alex finally decided that she's had enough of all of the teasing and the waiting.

Her lips pressed against Pipers, the kiss is unsteady at first, almost like they are testing the waters but Pipers hand tangles itself within raven locks and she pulls Alex closer, deepening the kiss as she let go of all her worries and the feeling of elation electrified within her body because of just how _relieved _she was that she was finally kissing Alex. The brunettes lips are soft and sweet and she takes the lead as her hand moves up from Pipers neck and rests on her cheek as she pulls her impossibly close into the fervour kiss.

Piper breaks away first and she finds herself panting as she rests her forehead against Alex's, her fingers still tangled within her hair, "Your place, now."

* * *

><p>Alex is surprised she made it out of the car in one piece.<p>

The whole journey Piper was trailing her hand across Alex's thighs and placing teasing kisses up and down her neck as Alex tried her best to focus on the road. As soon as the car pulled up in front of the tall apartment building both bodies practically jumped out of the car and Alex led Piper by the hand into her apartment, slamming the door loudly behind her. Pipers back slammed against the wall in the dark hallway and she feels hands drag across her hips and a low moan is muffled by a passionate kiss. Alex's probing tongue trailed over Pipers bottom lip and her mouth opened wider allowing Alex's tongue to enter her mouth. Piper tastes of the expensive restaurant wine and honey and Alex can't get enough, she grabs Piper by the hips and removes her body from the wall, her emerald eyes open momentarily so she can see where she is going. Piper finds herself walking backwards and almost tripping over the discarded bags that had been dropped upon arrival while her and Alex's tongues battle for dominance and hands rake over one another's body. Once the pair was in the living room Piper broke the kiss, chastely kissing Alex on the jaw once before pushing her down on to the couch behind her. Piper pulled up her dress slightly so the tight material no longer restricted the movement of her legs and she tossed her hair over her shoulder as she straddled Alex's thighs, surprising herself at just how confident she was coming across.

Alex splayed her hands across Pipers back as her teeth trapped the blondes lip and a moan escaped from her open mouth, but the pain of Alex's teeth biting down hard was quickly forgotten about and was instead replaced with overwhelming pleasure. The brunette's hands confidently move around Pipers waist to her ass and both of her hands squeeze roughly, causing Piper to tighten her grip on the brunette's arm so hard that she wouldn't be surprised if a bruise formed. Alex placed open mouthed kisses along Pipers jaw and down to her neck and the blonde closed her eyes and knocked her head back to grant the dominant brunette better access to her bare neck. Alex's teeth graze Pipers neck with her teeth and she bites down on the soft skin before soothing the sensitive area with her tongue. As she continues her attack her hands make their way up to the zipper of Pipers dress and it is vigorously tugged open and the material is pulled away from her skin by Alex's desperate hands.

Piper is aware things are moving fast. Maybe even a little too fast but who the hell cares? The blonde didn't care that a mere fifteen minutes ago Alex was calling her beautiful and now she was straddling the brunette's lap as Alex kissed her like her life depended on it while her hands trailed up and down her body, her nails scratching at her exposed back. Piper _needed _Alex and it was only now that she was so close to having her than she realised it.

The two of them was so captivated by one another and so desperate to explore the others body that they didn't hear the muffled slam of the apartment door.

Alex returned her mouth to Pipers and her probing tongue was granted entrance to her mouth, her dexterous fingers tugged down the blonde's strap of her black lace bra leaving her shoulder bare. Piper grinds her hips against Alex's and her hands move to the back of her dress as the kiss deepens, but before Pipers unsteady fingers could get a firm grip on the zipper of the dress she so desperately wanted to remove, a loud thud from behind her startled her.

"What the _fuck _do you think you're doing?" The quiet moans and heavy breaths halt at the sound of the aggressive and unfamiliar voice from behind. Alex looked over the bare shoulder of Piper and her eyes widened at the sight and the blonde felt Alex's entire body go stiff. Piper felt a firm hand grab her by the shoulder and drag her away from the sofa and on to her feet.

"What are you doing, let go of me!" Piper shouted as she forcefully freed her shoulder from the strangers painful grip. She turned to Alex as she pulled up her dress and zipped up as much of it as she could but the brunette was just sat there with fearful eyes.

"Who the fuck are you?" Piper snarled but the rage filled eyes of the shorter woman made Pipers confidence disappear and she stepped back through fear. She had never seen this person in her entire life, did she know Alex? Who was she? Piper's eyes scanned over her body, she was dressed in tight fitting jeans and a basic sweatshirt and what seemed to be a large travel bag was dumped on the floor which must have been the cause of the loud thud.

"Who am I?" She let out a bitter laugh and Piper furrowed her brows in confusion, "I'm her girlfriend."


End file.
